Two firefighters shot dead and two wounded in New York state ambush Two volunteer firefighters who were shot dead in upstate New York on Monday are believed to have been lured into a trap by a gunman who set a property alight and waited for first responders to arrive. The gunman, who also shot two other firefighters in the ambush, was later found dead from a gunshot wound at the scene in Webster, a quiet town about 12 miles from Rochester on the shore of Lake Ontario. At a press conference, Webster police chief Gerald Pickering fought back tears as he revealed the names of the two men who were killed - including a police lieutenant who gave up his free time to volunteer at the local fire station. Mike Chiapperini, 43, was a public information officer for Webster police department. Tomasz Kaczowka, whose age was not released, was a 911 dispatcher. These people get up in the middle of the night to go put out fires. They don't expect to be shot and killed" said Pickering. He added: "Causative reasons we don't have a this time." Asked if he believed the fire had been started deliberately, Pickering replied: "It does appear it was a trap that was set for first responders." The other firefighters suffered "significant injuries" in the attack. Joseph Hofsetter received a complex bullet wound to the pelvis, while Theodore Scardino was hit in his right knee and left shoulder. Both remained in an intensive care unit at hospital in nearby Rochester on Monday. Neither man's injuries are life threatening, but they are likely to need lengthy medical treatment, a hospital spokeswoman said. An off-duty police officer who happened to be driving past the scene was also injured by shrapnel. On Sunday, the most powerful gun rights lobby group in the US, the National Rifle Association, vowed again to oppose any new restrictions and said it would not cooperate with a task force on gun violence which is to be led by vice-president Joe Biden. The fire took hold shortly before 6am Monday morning at a house on a narrow peninsula near the lake. After the shooting started, police evacuated 33 people from the immediate surroundings. Fire crews were forced to wait until the area had been secured, with the help of Swat teams, before tackling the blaze. By then the fire had spread to nearby buildings and a car. In all, four homes were destroyed and a further four damaged, police said. The gunman - who was fired at by the first police officer on the scene - was found dead from a gunshot wound. Pickering said it was not known if he had taken his own life or had been shot dead. His identity has not been released. Mindful of the debate over the ownership of assault rifles in the US following the recent mass shooting at a school in Connecticut, Pickering said it was too early to say what type of gun the shooter had used in the attack. So soon after the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school, focus will again turn to America's gun violence and lax controls of firearms. Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn lamented the rise in incidents of mass shootings. "It's sad to see that this is becoming more commonplace in communities across the nation," he said.