19 Firefighters Dead

[Duchess]

Hero's all -

Andrew Ashcraft - 29
Robert Caldwell - 23
Travis Carter - 31
Dustin Deford - 24
Christopher MacKenzie - 30
Eric Marsh - 43
Grant McKee - 21
Sean Misner - 26
Scott Norris - 28
Wade Parker - 22
John Percin - 24
Anthony Rose - 23
Jesse Steed - 36
Joe Thurston - 32
Travis Turbyfill - 27
William Warneke - 25
Clayton Whitted - 28
Kevin Woyjeck - 21
Garret Zuppiger - 27

Eighteen of the 19 firefighters who lost their lives were part of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, an elite firefighting team from Prescott, Arizona.

To join, candidates must complete a boot camp-style test to prove they are in peak physical condition. They have to run 1.5 miles in 10 minutes and 35 seconds, complete 40 sit-ups in 60 seconds, 25 push-ups in 60 seconds, and seven pull-ups.

Members trained by running, hiking, yoga, doing core exercises and weight training.

'Problem solving, teamwork, ability to make decisions in a stressful environment and being nice are the attributes of our crewmembers,' its website read.

After a fire breaks out, they hike for miles into the wilderness with chain saws and backpacks filled with heavy gear to build lines of protection between people and the blaze. They remove brush, trees and anything that might burn in the direction of homes and cities.

This is the photograph I referred to yesterday, the one that the hotshot had sent his wife -