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The police chief in Webster, N.Y., says that four firefighters were shot while responding to a blaze in the town near Rochester and that two are dead. (CNN via WROC, Dec. 24, 2012)

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Funerals set for slain firefighters

Updated: Wednesday, 26 Dec 2012, 10:41 AM CST
Published : Wednesday, 26 Dec 2012, 10:41 AM CST

WEBSTER, N.Y. (AP) -- Funerals have been scheduled Sunday and Monday for the two volunteer firefighters who were shot and killed while responding to a fire near Rochester, N.Y. on Christmas Eve.

Police say an ex-con, William Spengler, set out on a quest to burn down his neighborhood just before sunrise, and had plenty of ammunition with him as he waited to ambush the first responders. He killed two firefighters and wounded two others.

Spengler was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and authorities believe he may have killed his sister as well. Authorities are analyzing a two-to-three-page typewritten rambling note he left behind.

A funeral service for Michael Chiapperini, a police lieutenant who was also a volunteer firefighter, is scheduled for noon Sunday. A funeral Mass for Tomasz Kaczowka, a 19-year-old who worked as a 911 dispatcher, will be held the following day.