When a firefighter fights the odds to stay on the job
After having served in the Marines, Derek Floyd later worked with the FDNY Ceremonial Unit. Credit: Floyd family
One did not need to know Derek Floyd of Huntington to hear echoes of his inspiring and somewhat timeless story. He was one of those committed firefighters and would-be firefighters so devoted to the profession that they push against all physical adversity in hopes of returning to its risky duties. Some make it all the way back, others fall short by no fault of their own.
The spirit that propels them is truly uncommon.
Floyd died last month at age 36. As earlier described in Newsday, he served in the Marines from 2006 to 2015, attained the rank of sergeant, and was awarded several decorations. “He decided to go be a Marine,” his mother was quoted as saying, “because he thought it could help him do better as a fireman.”
But one month into his academy training with the New York City Fire Department, pneumonia led to an incident of cardiac arrest at home in 2019, leaving him unable to graduate from the academy. Still chasing the dream, he served as a probationary firefighter with the FDNY’s ceremonial unit handling parades and funerals until late last year when he lost his job in the city’s budget crunch. Sadly, on April 15, he suffered another cardiac arrest, and passed away.
Private donations in Floyd’s name can be made to the New York Firefighters Foundation.
“Unfortunately, Derek was let down by the leaders of New York City,” said Andrew Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association. “Had Derek’s employment continued with the FDNY, he would have been entitled to death benefits and insurance worth over $600,000.”
For the public, there’s a wider point to be made. Over the years, the Bravest have produced remarkable tales of stubborn comeback efforts. It’s an occasion to reflect on the well-known but ultimately tragic story of the FDNY’s late Timothy Stackpole.
On June 5‚ 1998‚ Stackpole was seriously hurt when a floor collapsed during a massive building fire in Brooklyn that took the lives of two other firefighters. He spent more than two months in the New York Firefighters Burn Center with fourth and fifth-degree burns over 40% of his body.
After a long period of healing and rehab, he surprised all the doubters by returning to his job as lieutenant. He could have retired on a full disability pension. Instead, he reported for duty on March 10, 2001, and was promoted to captain on Sept. 6.
On the morning of Sept. 11, he was off-duty at headquarters in Brooklyn when the planes hit the World Trade Center.
Stackpole, 42, responded and died in the south tower’s collapse.
Firefighter Matthew Long’s story marks a different feat of persistence. He was hit by a charter bus in Manhattan on Dec. 22, 2005 while riding his bike to his training job on Randalls Island during a transit strike. His injuries were so severe and extensive that doctors offered little hope, according to an account posted by New York Presbyterian Hospital. He lost a lot of blood and spent a month in a coma.
Long made a gradual but amazing comeback. He suffered chronic pain. His right leg was slightly shorter than his left. And yet, in 2008, he completed the New York City Marathon. Later, he and a co-writer published a book: “The Long Run: A New York City Firefighter’s Triumphant Comeback from Crash Victim to Elite Athlete.”
The cliché that these firefighters are a special breed has a lot of documentation. It’s not just “branding.”
COLUMNIST DAN JANISON’S opinions are his own.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
