A screen grab from WHAM-TV's live coverage of the scene in Webster, New York. Source: Supplied
FOUR volunteer firefighters responding to a pre-dawn house fire have been shot, two fatally, in suburban Webster, New York, according to police.
"One or more shooters" fired at the firefighters after they arrived shortly after 5.30am at the blaze near the Lake Ontario shore, just east of Rochester, police chief Gerald Pickering said.
There was no active shooter at the scene later on Monday morning, where three houses continue to burn. Monroe county sheriff, Patrick O'Flynn, said the first Webster police officer who arrived on the scene exchanged gunfire with the shooter.
The fires have destroyed three homes and firefighters are waiting for the scene to be cleared so they can resume their work. There is no information on whether the homes on fire were occupied.
The Democrat and Chronicle reports that the flag outside the West Webster Fire Department was lowered to half-staff at 10.45am. Fire district commissioners, Pat Morris and Billy Gross, described a sombre scene inside.
One of the firefighters shot, but not killed, was a Rochester firefighter who volunteers in Webster, the commissioners said. The department has about 125 volunteers.
"Each one of the firefighters is comforting each other," Mr Morris said. The Monroe County stress management team is working with the firefighters, the commissioners said, and local businesses are donating food.
"These firemen are part of our family. You go into a fire with these guys. To see them go down with something like this is totally unexpected. We are in shock," Mr Gross said, adding help was coming from all sides.
"Because of the shock and stress inside, you can't expect us to go and fight (another) fire," he added.
FBI spokeswoman Maureen Dempsey said the FBI was assisting law enforcement with whatever needs they had. "We have people on the scene. Members of our joint terrorism task force."
Webster is a middle-class, lakeside suburb. "I'm not aware of anything like this happening in Webster, obviously not a firefighter being fired upon," Webster fire marshal Rob Boutillier said.
Authorities remain on the scene evacuating residents. They are being searched by New York state police and other authorities before being taken to a bus.
Resident Michael Damico, whose son woke him up at 8am to tell him about the fire, was among those evacuated. He told the Democrat and Chronicle that "The whole strip's been evacuated. They're evacuating all of the houses and going through them," he said.
"We looked out the window and we saw the SWAT team and everyone around. Some people on this bus already watched their houses burn. They're not happy," Mr Damico said.
The debate about gun laws in America continues, in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings on December 14, which killed 26 people including 20 children.
Webster has now been linked to house fires two Decembers in a row. Last December 7, authorities say, a 15-year-old boy doused his home with gasoline and set it ablaze, killing his father and two brothers, 16 and 12. His mother and 13-year-old sister escaped with injuries. He is being prosecuted as an adult.
With AP
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