A firefighter shot by a sniper in upstate New York calmly described his wounds as "eventually mortal" unless he got medical help soon, although paramedics were kept away because the shooter could still be near Monday morning.

"Be advised I am struck in the lower leg, knee area, and the lower left back," volunteer firefighter Theodore Scardino told a Monroe County, New York, dispatcher as he used his firetruck for cover Monday morning.

"Brother, hang tight," the dispatcher told Scardino.

Two firefighters lay dead on the street near Scardino, not moving since they were shot, he said.

"I am in the danger zone right now," Scardino radioed. "I need EMS or I'm going to be joining them."

The recorded emergency radio traffic from the incident is archived at the website radioreference.com.

The shots came across the street from the burning house and car that were set on fire by the shooter, 62-year-old William Spengler, police said. He was aiming at a West Webster Fire Department truck that answered his call to 911, they said.

But ambulances were kept away because police didn't know if the shooter was still there, hidden behind a tree on a hill above.

While he waited and bled, Scardino made a request. "Is it possible to notify my next of kin and apprise of the situation? I have a hysterical mother."

With the help of two residents of the neighborhood, Scardino eventually left the scene in his Chevy Trailblazer, the vehicle he drove there in response to the initial fire call 35 minutes earlier.

Spengler, who was convicted of killing his grandmother decades ago, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound hours later.

Scardino and firefighter Joseph Hofstetter survived their gunshot wounds and were "convalescing and doing as well as I would expect at this stage," a doctor at University of Rochester Hospital said Wednesday.

"Mr. Scardino and Mr. Hofstetter are both receiving supportive care and are making small steps on their long road ahead," Dr. Nicole Stassen, a trauma surgeon said. "It is critical that they remain in an environment where they can focus on rest and recovery."

The men will start physical therapy Wednesday and their conditions should be upgraded to "satisfactory" later in the day, Stassen said.

The firefighters who were killed -- Michael Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka -- will be buried after separate funerals Sunday and Monday.

"Calling hours" -- a time for mourners to gather and remember them -- will be held at Webster Schroeder High School Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and evening, according to a school official.

Chiapperini's funeral will be held at the high school on Sunday, while Kaczowka's funeral is scheduled for Monday at the St. Stainslaus Kostka Church in Rochester.

Chiapperini, named "Firefighter of the Year" for his West Webster Fire Department just two weeks ago, was also lieutenant with his town's police department.

His 19-year-old son, Nick Chiapperini, was on the job in the Monroe Ambulance Company dispatch center when the call for help came in, according to West Webster Fire Department spokesman Al Sienkiewicz.

"Nick was in the dispatch center and heard the entire ordeal play out over the scanners," Sienkiewicz said. "It's something no one should have to hear."