The first thing everyone saw wasn’t the flames. It was the man lying flat across the front door of a burning house, arms spread wide, refusing to move while smoke rolled over him — and the strangest part was that he looked like he was protecting the fire instead of escaping it.

The first thing everyone saw wasn’t the flames. It was the man lying flat across the front door of a burning house, arms spread wide, refusing to move while smoke rolled over him — and the strangest part was that he looked like he was protecting the fire instead of escaping it.

PART 1 — The Door He Wouldn’t Leave

The first thing …