Firefighting is a tough, dangerous job, especially in Arizona where wildfires are prevalent and deadly.
Phoenix launched its first fire department in 1886 when a special bond raised $10,000 to purchase equipment and improve the water supply. In the decades after, the city worked to expand staff and upgrade equipment to effectively fight blazes around town.
Arizona’s firefighting history includes the Yarnell Hill Fire , which overran and killed 19 wildland firefighters with the Granite Mountain Hotshots crew on June 30, 2013. It is the deadliest wildland fire for U.S. firefighters since 1933 and the greatest loss of U.S. firefighter life since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks…