Firefighters shot dead while responding to New York blaze

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.

Officials in the town of Webster told local media outlets that someone shot at firefighters at around 6am on Monday when they arrived at the scene of the blaze near the Lake Ontario shore just east of Rochester.

A fire which started in one home has spread to two others and a car, officials said. Police have surrounded the neighbourhood and are searching for the shooter.

The police chief in the New York State town said four firefighters were shot while responding to the blaze and that two are dead.

Chief Gerald Pickering said “one or more shooters” shot at the firefighters on Monday morning.

Officials said there is no active shooter at the scene.