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Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Firefighters gather around a burning house after they were let back into the area to battle the blaze, Monday Dec. 24, 2012, in Webster, N.Y. A gunman ambushed four volunteer firefighters responding to an intense pre-dawn house fire Monday morning outside Rochester, N.Y., killing two and ending up dead himself, authorities said. Police used an armored vehicle to evacuate more than 30 nearby residents. (AP Photo/Democrat & Chronicle, Jamie Germano) MAGS OUT; NO SALES

WEBSTER, N.Y. - 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."

Webster Police Chief Gerald Pickering said Tuesday that the man's sister had not yet been found. He said 62-year-old ex-convict William Spengler armed himself with three weapons and set his house on fire to lure first responders into a death trap.

Two firefighters were shot dead and two others are hospitalized. Spengler killed himself as seven houses burned around him Monday.