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Firefighters shot as they arrive at house fire

At least two firefighters died when they were shot at the scene of a blaze in upstate New York on Monday, police said.

(CNN) — At least two firefighters were shot and killed at the scene of a fire that engulfed multiple houses in upstate New York on Monday, police said.

Doctors treated two other firefighters for gunshot wounds, police in Webster, New York, told reporters.

Authorities believe one or more shooters took aim at the firefighters after they left their vehicles, Police Chief Gerald Pickering said.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo described it as a “horrific shooting” and a “senseless act of violence.”

“Volunteer firefighters and police officers were injured and two were taken from us as they once again answered the call of duty,” he said in a statement.

It was unclear whether there were any suspects.

“We have different individuals that were possible people with knowledge, but at this point I can’t really comment,” Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn told reporters.

For hours, the gunfire stopped firefighters from working to extinguish the flames and forced police SWAT teams to evacuate homes in the area.

Firefighters first arrived before 6 a.m., said Rob Boutillier, Webster’s fire marshal. By 9 a.m., flames had engulfed three houses and a vehicle, he said.

“It’s still an active crime scene,” Pickering said. “We have firefighters there at the location. It took a while to make it safe … to put out the fires.”

Doctors were treating the wounded firefighters Monday morning, said Teri D’Agostino, a spokeswoman for Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York. They were in guarded condition, she said.

One firefighter escaped from the scene in his own vehicle about an hour after he was shot, then was taken to the hospital by an ambulance from another location, Boutillier said.

Another wounded firefighter was conscious and speaking when he was removed from the scene, Boutillier said.

The shooting comes amid a renewed debate over gun control in the United States after a gunman killed 26 people at a Connecticut elementary school earlier this month.

President Barack Obama has set a January deadline for “concrete proposals” to deal with gun violence.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, has said she will introduce legislation to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. The White House has said that the president supports that effort.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, the National Rifle Association’s president called for more guns in the wake of the mass shooting, proposing putting an armed guard in every U.S. school in order to protect children.

On Sunday, NRA President Wayne LaPierre told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he would not express support for any new gun restrictions, saying most gun laws on the books are currently rarely enforced.

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