Four firefighters were shot, two of them fatally, in a trap set for them as they responded to a fire in upstate New York just after 5:30am Monday morning.

The gunman ambushed the four volunteer firefighters as they exited their vehicles after arriving at the fire’s location along Lake Ontario on Lake Road east of Rochester.

One of the firemen, despite being shot, was able to escape the scene. The other three remained pinned down on the narrow strip of land until SWAT teams arrived on the scene.

The two fatally shot firefighters have been identified by the Webster Police Department as Lt Michael Chiapperini, a 20-year veteran of the police department, and Tomasz Kaczowka, who was also a 911 dispatcher.

“It does appear that it was a trap that was set for first responders,” Police Chief Gerald L. Pickering said.

The gunman, after being pursued, was found to be dead of a gunshot wound. It is not clear at this time if the gunman died of self-inflicted wounds or was shot by police. The gunman remains unidentified. It is also unknnown at this time what type of weapon or weapons were used in the ambush.

After the shooting, the blaze continued to grow and engulfed four homes and a mobile home. Firefighters were not able to combat the flames at the crime scene until the shooter was confirmed dead. They resumed their efforts at 11am. SWAT teams evacuated residents from the area, the whole strip has been evacuated and teams searched the residences.

The two injured firefighters are being treated at the University of Rochester Medical Center for significant injuries. They have been identified as Theodore Scardino and Joseph Hofstetter.

An off-duty officer was also wounded by shrapnel as two rounds hit his truck as he was driving to work. One round went through his windshield and one round hit his engine block. That officer has been identified as Officer Jon Ritter.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo released a statement saying, “New York’s first responders are true heroes as they time and again selflessly rush toward danger in order to keep our families and communities safe.”

“One behalf of my family and all New Yorkers, I offer my deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed today and pray for the recovery of the injured.”