the untold story by the Yarnell Hill Fire's lone survivor
Brendan McDonough was on the verge of becoming a hopeless heroin addict when, for the sake of his young daughter, he decided to turn his life around. He enlisted in the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a team of elite firefighters based in Prescott, Arizona. Four hotshots had left the unit and its leader, Eric Marsh, was in desperate need of new recruits. With Marsh's firm, but loving encouragement, Brendan unlocked a latent drive and dedication and went on to successfully battle a number of blazes. On June 13, 2013, McDonough was serving as a lookout when the Hotshots confronted a 3,000 degree inferno in Yarnell, Arizona. The relentless firestorm trapped all 19 of McDonough's "brothers", killing them in minutes. After finding his way out of the dead-end of drugs, losing the men who had saved him was heartbreaking.