Arm the firefighters?
source:
USA Today
4 firefighters shot, 2 killed at Webster, N.Y., fire
Fires allowed to spread while gunman remains at large
A gunman opened fire on
firefighters responding to a blaze at a house in a Rochester suburb early Monday, killing two firefighters and injuring two others.
Webster, N.Y., police Chief Gerald Pickering said "one or more shooters" fired at the firefighters when they arrived around 5:45 a.m. ET at the scene near the shore of Lake Ontario in western New York state.
There was no active shooter at the scene by late morning, according to Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn, the Associated Press reported.
Fire Marshal Rob Boutillier said the blaze was allowed to spread until the scene was secured. As a helicopter whirled overhead, firefighters were finally able to begin attacking the blaze, which had spread to three homes and a vehicle.
The two injured firefighters were in guarded condition at Strong Memorial Hospital with gunshot wounds, according to a hospital spokeswoman,
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported.
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At West Webster Fire Department, the flag outside was lowered to half-staff.
"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," said fire district commissioner Billy Gross.
"Each of the firefighters is comforting each other," said Pat Morris, another fire district commissioner.
The gunman opened fire on the first firefighters to respond to the call, striking one in the backside. One of the injured firefighters was able to drive his vehicle away from the scene.
"I'm not aware of anything like this happening in Webster, obviously not a firefighter being fired upon," Boutillier said.
A SWAT team escorted some residents to a bus that took them from the neighborhood.
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(12/24/2012) The scene of the fire and shooting. A gunman shot and killed at least two firefighters responding to a house fire at a Rochester suburb early Monday. Two other firefighters were in guarded condition at Strong Memorial Hospital with gunshot wounds, according to a hospital spokeswoman, The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported. The gunman was still at large at mid-morning. Fire Marshal Rob Boutillier said the blaze was allowed to spread to two other houses until the area is secured. <META content="The Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Photo: The Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle)
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Boutillier advised those residents who chose to remain in their homes to stay away from windows and doors.
Webster resident Michael Damico was among those neighbors who were evacuated.
"The whole strip's been evacuated," he said. "They're evacuating all of the houses and going through them."
Webster, N.Y.
Damico's son woke him up around 8 a.m. to tell him about the fire that was burning down the street.
"We looked out the window and we saw the SWAT team and everyone around," he said.
"Some people on this bus already watched their houses burn," Damico said. "They're not happy."
Webster, with a population of 5,000, is located northeast of Rochester.
(hell no, the NRA wants us taxpayers to foot the bill for its gotdamn gruesome greed 
) 
This board is getting boring.
- - there's that language again; the kind of words that extremist have difficulty with.
