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Investigators to examine why Ariz. blaze killed 19
APTOPIX Firefighters  Werm
Firefighter Brendan McDonough embraces a mourner near the end of a candlelight vigil in Prescott, Ariz. on Tuesday. McDonough was the sole survivor of the 20-man Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew after an out-of-control blaze killed the 19 on Sunday near Yarnell, Ariz. - photo by Associated Press
PRESCOTT, Ariz. — Shortly before flames engulfed his comrades, the Hotshot firefighters' lookout radioed his team that the blaze had shifted direction with the wind and that he was fleeing for safety. The harrowing experience of the elite crew's lone survivor was detailed Tuesday by a Prescott fire official, who also defended his department's actions in the tragedy that killed 19 firefighters. The deaths raised questions over whether the crew should have been pulled out much earlier and if standard precautions would have made any difference in the face of triple-digit temperatures, erratic winds and tinderbox conditions.
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