Arizona Mourns Fallen Firefighters

Tuesday, 02 July 2013 | by Pat's Picks

The Arizona Republic names the 19 firefighters who lost their lives this weekend. Among those who died, 14 of them were still in their 20s. The Republic says many of them came from firefighting families, several more were Marines, and three were expecting children.

USA Today takes another tack, investigating how those fire shelters are supposed to work. Developed in 1977, they’ve been widely adopted since 2002. They are covered in aluminum, which provides protection from temperatures up to 500°s; at which point the glue holding everything together starts to melt. High winds can also rip off the aluminum layer, leaving the occupant exposed. After the aluminum is gone the next level of silica provides only a moderate level of protection.