The attorney for an Arizona city where 19 firefighters died while battling a massive woodland blaze says he was told it was an order from the group 's supervisor led to their deaths in June 2013 . Prescott City Attorney Jon Paladini claims the fire 's sole survivor , lookout Brendan McDonough , heard the leader of the Granite Mountain Hotshots order the crew to leave a safe spot where the fire had already burned . Paladini tells the Arizona Republic that he was told the order came just before winds whipped Yarnell Hill into a deadly , all encompassing firestorm . Fatal orders ? The Yarnell Hill Fire killed 19 firefighters in 2013 , the worst disaster of its kind since 1933 . New revelations now claim their deaths came after their supervisor gave orders for the crew to leave a safe zone . But first , Paladini claims McDonough heard crew supervisor Eric Marsh and his top deputy arguing over making the dangerous move . Marsh ordered it , Paladini says , while his deputy Jesse Steed warned against it . Whether or not Paladini 's claim is true , neither man is alive to verify it . What 's more , Paladini 's claim is based on what he says he was told by Darrell Willis , former chief of woodland fires for the city . Paladini says McDonough told Willis about the deadly decision . But neither Willis nor McDonough will verify that account . McDonough told the Arizona Republic when asked about the radio interaction he allegedly heard between Marsh and Steed : ' I think you 're being misinformed . ' Prescott , Arizona City Attorney Jon Paladini ( left ) claims that the lone surviving Granite Mountain Hotshot Brendan McDonough overheard an argument between the crew leader and his deputy over the move , which would prove deadly . Former Prescott Fire Division Chief Darrell Willis , seen here speaking during a memorial service honoring the 19 fallen firefighters , says McDonough came to him to get something 'off his shoulders . ' Willis wo n't say what that was , but both he and McDonough have denied it was a recounting of any argument between crew chief Eric Marsh and his deputy Jesse Steed . And when the paper asked Willis about the argument , Willis said : 'That was not part of the detail that I knew — that he told me . ' Paladini says that 's a departure from what Willis previously told him . Paladini told the Arizona Republic , in part : . 'McDonough allegedly overheard radio traffic between Marsh and Steed ... 'Marsh told Steed to leave the 'black , ' which was safe ... 'Steed protested , saying the move would be dangerous ... 'That is what Darrell ( Willis ) told me , ' Paladini said . Despite his claim that Paladini got the facts of their conversation wrong , Willis does not deny speaking to the attorney . Willis says he did so after McDonough came to him because he 'wanted to get something off his shoulders . ' Willis , evidently , just is n't saying what that something was . The members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots ( pictured ) were engulfed by wind-whipped flames on the third day of a lightning-sparked blaze that destroyed scores of homes and charred 8,400 acres in and around the tiny town of Yarnell , northwest of Phoenix . The June 30 disaster marked the greatest loss of life from a U.S. wildfire since 1933 , when more than two dozen firefighters were killed battling the Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles . Nonetheless , the Arizona Republic writes , 'when Willis reported the conversation to Paladini and others , it set off a chain reaction of legal actions beginning with reports to the Arizona State Forestry Division , the Prescott City Council and the Arizona Attorney General 's Office . It also led authorities to interview other potential witnesses , and prompted an unsuccessful effort to subpoena McDonough . ' The purported revelation may change the outcome of a wrongful death suit filed by the families of a dozen on the hotshots last June accusing the state of negligence . It could also change the outcome of suits filed by dozens more area property owners suing the state for alleged mismanagement that led to the destruction of their property . The Forestry Division 's liability might be reduced if it turns out Marsh overruled Steed 's concerns over moving out of the 'black ' safe zone . The members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were engulfed by wind-whipped flames on the third day of a lightning-sparked blaze that destroyed scores of homes and charred 8,400 acres in and around the tiny town of Yarnell , northwest of Phoenix . The June 30 disaster marked the greatest loss of life from a U.S. wildfire since 1933 , when more than two dozen firefighters were killed battling the Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles . The purported revelation may change the outcome of a wrongful death suit filed by the families of a dozen on the hotshots last June accusing the state of negligence . The Forestry Division 's liability might be reduced if it turns out Marsh overruled Steed 's concerns over moving out of the 'black ' safe zone .
Prescott City Attorney Jon Paladini claims sole survivor Brendan Willis heard an argument between the crew leader and his deputy . Paladini claims Willis told his secret to former city fire chief Darrell McDonough . McDonough admits Willis came to him to 'get something off his chest ' but says it was n't about infighting that occurred before the tragedy . Willis has also denied the accuracy of Paladini 's account , but reports of it may alter lawsuits stemming from the tragic June 2013 fire .