The family of a New York City firefighter has been left distraught after he was fired by the department and then died from a heart attack at the age of 36, leaving them without any income.
Derek Floyd, 36, suffered a cardiac arrest and died on April 15, just four months after the city fired him as part of a budget crunch to fund migrant services.
Floyd’s death has now left his grieving widow, six-year-old son Ethan and two-year-old daughter Abigail facing the terrifying prospect of not being able to afford their home.
Floyd had been a firefighter for four years and was one of roughly ten Fire Department employees on ‘long-term duty.’ His firing came days before Christmas, leaving his family ineligible for $600,000 in death benefits they would have received if he wasn’t let go.
‘If Derek would have stayed on, he would have had a life insurance policy with the FDNY. That would have helped out financially because right now, it’s really bad. I’m honestly swimming in a lot of debt,’ his grieving widow revealed.
Long-term duty can mean a firefighter was either injured on the job and given office work, or is out sick for an extended period of time.
The city is aiming to cut the FDNY budget by $74 million by the end of 2025 in order make way for additional spending on migrants.
In Floyd’s case, he had been working in the chaplain’s office after suffering an earlier heart attack in 2019 while still in the Fire Academy.
Before joining New York’s Bravest, Floyd had completed three tours in the Middle East, serving as a Marines.
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