A New York City firefighter who lost his job in December amid a series of slash-and-burn budget cuts to pay for services for illegal immigrants has died.
Derek Floyd, 36, died on April 15 after suffering a heart attack, according to the New York Post.
Floyd, a Marine Corps veteran who served three tours in the Middle East, suffered an earlier heart attack in 2019 while he was in the New York Fire Department’s Fire Academy.
As such, he was on modified duty with the chaplain’s office until he and 10 others on “long-term duty” were let go in late December.
The timing was cruel because it left him just short of the time needed to qualify for additional medical benefits and more than $600,000 worth of benefits to his family upon his death.
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“What disturbs me the most is that the FDNY is understaffed by hundreds of firefighters. Terminating [Floyd] was absolutely unnecessary,” Andrew Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighter Association, told the Post.
“He had an important job, and the FDNY actually needed him in that unit. He was terminated so the department could prove that they were making cuts. He deserved better,” Ansbro said.
Floyd was in the process of trying to return to active duty at the time of his death.
“I think it definitely took a toll once they let him go. He always tried to, like, stay positive about it, and he wasn’t really angry,” said Cristine Floyd, the firefighter’s 34-year-old widow.
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“But you see a person, and the wheels are turning in their brain where they’re just constantly thinking, so I definitely think it did affect us,” she told the Post.
“If Derek would have stayed on, he would have had a life insurance policy with the FDNY,” his wife said. “That would have helped out financially because right now, it’s really bad. I’m honestly swimming in a lot of debt.”
Floyd found work after being fired, but it did not pay well and limited his time with his 6-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter.
“He used to be so present for, like, our kids and stuff,” his wife said. “Being a firefighter was something he was really passionate about. He was really a big-time, like, family person. He was all about his kids.”
It is with deep regret the UFA announces the passing of Retired Probationary Firefighter Derek C. Floyd. We extend our deepest sympathies to his loved ones and all the members of the ceremonial unit who worked with him during these troubling times. pic.twitter.com/qhBKHnjdeV
— FDNY UFA (@UFANYC) April 17, 2024
The Post estimated between 800 and 1,000 firefighters are on modified assignments such as Floyd’s at any particular time.
“We are heartbroken over the passing of former Probationary Firefighter Derek Floyd, and will explore all financial, legal and legislative options to help his family and ensure they have the support they need during this time,” Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said in a statement.
In January, New York officials said they had rearranged the budget to reduce the costs of housing and feeding illegal immigrants by $2 billion and would only spend $10 billion by the end of 2025, according to WNYW-TV.
The city has arrangements with more than 100 hotels that have agreed to lucrative deals to become shelters for illegal immigrants, including one that will receive $12.3 million from the city for its conversion from a hotel to a shelter, according to the Post.
