His crews. >> stuck co, wood, wood roofs, tile roof. you know? if it's combustible materials, definitely harder to defend. >> reporter: may sound cold or incensive but in the past firefighters have stayed too long simply because it was a home. and died trying to save it. another deciding factor is the big picture. balancing, say, saving a home versus saving a subdivision. that's james' call. >> even though a single resident and his property is dear to that person, we have to look at the overall picture of the community in general. >> reporter: and remember all of this from todd to mike to jame...