Police in New York state say the man who lured firefighters to their deaths in a blaze of gunfire left a note saying he wanted to burn down the neighbourhood and “do what I like doing best, killing people.”

A former convict set a house and car ablaze in his lakeside New York state neighbourhood to lure firefighters then opened fire on them, killing two and engaging police in a shootout before killing himself while several homes burned.

Authorities said they are evacuating a lakeside neighbourhood in western New York where two firefighters have been shot dead while responding to a blaze that engulfed three homes.