December 24, 2012, 11:26 AM

4 firefighters shot, 2 dead in upstate N.Y


Firefighters are currently letting burn a fire which spread to three homes in Webster, N.Y., because the scene is not secure, after an unknown suspect fired upon first responders, killing two, Dec. 24, 2012. / WROC

WEBSTER, N.Y. Four volunteer firefighters responding to a pre-dawn house fire were shot Monday morning, two fatally, leading to a shootout in suburban Rochester, N.Y., police said.

"One or more shooters" fired at the firefighters after they arrived shortly after 5:30 a.m. at the blaze near the Lake Ontario shore, just east of Rochester, Town of Webster Police Chief Gerald Pickering said.

There was no active shooter at the scene later Monday morning, according to Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn. The first Webster police officer who arrived on the scene exchanged gunfire with the shooter, Flynn said, but he had no other information on the shootout.

The West Webster Fire District received a report of a car and house on fire on Lake Road, on a narrow peninsula where Irondequoit Bay meets Lake Ontario, Flynn said.

"When they got there, they stated to take on rounds and the initial responders were struck," the sheriff said.

The two wounded firefighters were in critical condition at a Rochester hospital, Flynn said.

Firefighters are currently letting the fire on Lake Road burn because the scene is not secure. At least three houses are engulfed in flames, along with one vehicle, according to firefighters.

CBS Affiliate WROC reports at least one house has collapsed from the flames.
Webster, a middle-class, lakeside suburb, now is the scene of violence linked to house fires for two Decembers in a row.

Last Dec. 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.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57560719/4-firefighters-shot-2-dead-in-upstate-n.y/