on june 30, 2013, 19 members of the 20-man group died fighting the yarnell hill fire. only brendan mcdonough survived. the firefighters had apparently deployed fire shelters, but not all of the bodies were found inside them. according to the national fire protection association, it was the greatest loss of life for firefighters in a wildfire since 1933, the deadliest wildfire of any kind since 1991, and the greatest loss of firefighters in the united states since the september 11 attacks. vice president joe biden attended the memorial and stated, "all men are created equal. but then, a few became firefighters."