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Oregon man sets house on fire, shoots at firefighters, before shooting self

By Ray Downs

Oct. 18 (UPI) -- An Oregon man set his house on fire and shot at responding firefighters before turning his gun on himself and ending his life.

Lance Taylor Jacobs, 60, did not injure any firefighters or neighbors during the standoff Wednesday morning in Springfield, Ore., police said. Four homes were damaged from the fire.

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"Miraculously, honestly, no one was hit," Springfield police Lt. Scott McKee told NBC News.

Before he set his house on fire and took his own life, Jacobs wrote a lengthy post on Facebook, where he described having various health problems, including chronic sleep apnea, MRSA and severe aches and pains throughout his body.

Jacobs also described a bitter divorce 28 years ago that he says he never got over.

"The trauma of not being allowed to see my kids anymore totally devastated me," he wrote, adding: "Night after night, I would relive the trauma and pain of losing my kids. It was like an echo that just would not stop. I've never really fully recovered emotionally. My life has been broken and meaningless ever since."

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