A photo of what appears to be the 19 flag-draped body bags of the Arizona firefighters killed on Sunday was anonymously published on Facebook on July 4. And as the photo quickly began spreading between Facebook users, it stirred debate among some regarding privacy and sensitivity issues.
USA Today reported that a fire department official was outraged and a family member of one of the firefighters had complained, believing the photo was going to remain private.
The photo was posted on a Facebook page devoted to the fallen firefighting team.
Prescott Fire Department’s Darrell Willis’ contact information was on the page, and when he was asked for comment he said he had no idea where the photo came from: “This is totally unauthorized. It’s totally against anything we are committed to.”
Willis did confirm that the photo is real. It was taken after the rescue crew arrived to find the bodies of the 19 firefighters had already been put into body bags. The recovery crew then draped a flag over each bag.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins
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