WATERLOO - A midlevel appeals court has rejected the appeal of a volunteer firefighter convicted of killing his wife and children in a house fire nearly five years ago.

Eric Parsons was convicted of five counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson for setting the fire that killed his wife and four young children on Nov. 5, 2001.

Witnesses said Parsons had threatened to kill his wife, Cheryl, if she ever left him and took their two daughters and two sons, aged 1 to 6. The fire occurred three days after his family moved into an apartment house in the Finger Lakes hamlet of Romulus in western New York.

Parsons was seen quarreling with his wife outside the house the day before the fire, and as the fire began to consume the house, he appeared calm and never mentioned to a passer-by that his family was trapped, prosecutors said. Instead, he drove five miles to an all-night convenience store to summon help.

After a three-week trial, a jury deliberated for eight hours before convicting him.

He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Parsons appealed the conviction, arguing that there was insufficient evidence that he set the fire and claiming that evidence of previous domestic violence should not have been allowed in court. He also claimed prosecutors had behaved inappropriately.

The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court in Rochester rejected his appeal in a three page decision released Friday.

Traces of a flammable gas were found throughout the apartment, on his wife's clothing and hair and on their infant's cot.

Particles were also found on Parson's sneakers and car upholstery.