Firefighters were ambushed by a gunman while responding to a brush fire in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, on Sunday, according to the local sheriff's office.

The man who police believe killed two Idaho firefighters responding to a brush fire after starting the flames himself had wanted to pursue a career in the fire service, his grandfather told CNN.

Hours after firefighters in Idaho broadcast they were being shot at, two of the firefighters are dead and the lone gunman’s body has been recovered, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said at a press conference Sunday night.