Arizona Firefighter Widow Denied Benefits By City Husband Died Protecting

Arizona firefighter widow Juliann Ashcraft was distraught when her husband Andrew Ashcraft, a 29-year-old member of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, died defending the city of Prescott, Arizona from a wildfire along with 18 other firefighters on June 30.

Now it appears city officials are willing to repay Ashcraft’s widow and four children for their husband and father’s sacrifice by denying them lifetime benefits, including health insurance, according to a new report from RT.com.

Only one member of the Hotshots crew survived the wildfire, which started due to a lightning strike near Yarnell. The blaze spread rapidly, consuming more than 2,000 acres.

The city promised all families a lump sum payment of $328,618 and lifetime survivor benefits, but has since retracted the promise, stating that 13 of the deceased firefighters were seasonal employees, thus rendering the families ineligible for survivor benefits.

Those survivor benefits include health insurance, a life insurance payment, and monthly lifetime survivor benefits that could have equaled several million dollars, the website stated.

The city maintains that Ashcraft, the husband of the Arizona firefighter widow, was not a full-time employee despite the fact that he worked 40-hour weeks and earned a full-time salary.

“As shocked as I was that my husband went to work and never came home, I’m equally shocked in how the city has treated our family since then,” Juliann said in comments to CBS News. “I said to [city officials], ‘My husband was a full-time employee, he went to work full-time for you.’ And their response to me was, ‘Perhaps there was a communication issue in your marriage.'”

The deceased Ashcraft’s mother Deborah Pfingston said city officials had promised to retroactively classify all seasonal, temp firefighters as permanent, to provide the benefits, but are now saying no dice.

City officials denied any wrongdoing in an official statement sent to CBS News. “”The city has fully complied with all of the laws and employment policies that direct survivor benefits.”

Ashcraft’s wife and kids have been surviving in the meantime based on private donations that began after her husband’s death.

“Quite literally, my bills are being paid by the good people of the world who are giving donations, because the city of Prescott isn’t doing anything for us… Now I have four kids and myself, and I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

The family has planned a news conference for today to bring public attention to the situation. In comments to the Arizona Republic, Juliann said, “The bare bones of it is [Andrew] worked full time… I just know I’ve got to fight for what he earned. He died, and in doing so, he earned the right for his children to be provided for. And yet now, somehow, I have to prove why. And I don’t understand that.”

A bit more on the sacrifice of the Granite Mountain Hotshots here:

What do you think should be done in the case of the Arizona firefighter widow being denied benefits? Should she be able to sue for further damages, or do you think city officials are telling the truth?

[Image via ShutterStock]