On Christmas Eve 2012 in Webster, New York, 19-year-old Tomasz Marian Kaczowka was killed while responding as a firefighter and 911 dispatcher with the West Webster Fire Department. Tomasz, described as energetic and devoted to public service, had been with the department about a year and was on scene at a reported car and house fire that turned out to be a deliberate ambush.

The fire was set by 62-year-old William Spengler, who opened fire from a sniper position as firefighters arrived. Tomasz and Lieutenant Michael Chiapperini, 43, were fatally shot; two other firefighters, Joseph Hofstetter and Theodore Scardino, were wounded. Spengler later engaged in a shootout with a responding police officer and died of a self-inflicted wound. Investigators found a note in which Spengler described intent to cause destruction, and the remains of his sister Cheryl Spengler were found in the burned home.

Authorities later arrested Dawn Nguyen, a former neighbor of Spengler, accusing her of illegally purchasing the firearms used in the ambush on Spengler’s behalf; she was convicted and sentenced for providing the weapons that led to these deaths.