Michael Yagmin, the ex- New Britain firefighter who lost his job amid a drug scandal, was killed last month by an accidental overdose of fentanyl and xylazine, the medical examiner’s office reported Tuesday.
Yagmin was found dead at his Farmington Avenue apartment in April, 14 months after the city had fired him for lying about his role in a secretive ring of New Britain firefighters who had been using drugs on duty as well as off duty.
Yagmin, 39, had spent 18 years as a city firefighter, and reached the rank of lieutenant.
But his career quickly imploded when city officials began investigating the death of 36-year-old Firefighter Matthew Dizney, who was found dead in his Southington home on Jan. 26, 2022. An autopsy concluded Dizney’s death was partly due to acute intoxication from a mix of horse tranquilizers, fentanyl and other drugs.
The investigation determined that at least eight city firefighters from had been using narcotics and other drugs on duty, sometimes buying or selling them at their firehouses. Yagmin insisted that he hadn’t sold Dizney illegal drugs, but the city uncovered extensive text messages between the two that indicated otherwise.
New Britain allowed six firefighters to keep their jobs in exchange for accepting demotions and suspensions and undergoing treatment. Yagmin, however, wouldn’t accept that deal, and the city fired him in February of 2022. He appealed to a state arbitrator, but lost in January.
Arbitrator Peter Murphy concluded Yagmin’s “core behavior of drug use and his facilitation of such use with another firefighter, leading to his death, is obviously absolutely unacceptable in a public safety officer, especially one in a supervisory role.”
Yagmin, who was single, was found dead in April. Since then, authorities have awaited results of toxicology tests before signing off on his cause of death.
Xylazine, a powerful animal tranquilizer, was found in his system, according to the autopsy results. Federal drug officials warn that it has been spreading to various parts of the country and is extremely dangerous, partly because users appear not to respond when treated with Narcan. TV stations in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco have documented its devastating effects on their cities’ homeless populations.
Friends and relatives who held a celebration of life for Yagmin the week after his death praised him for his dedication to youth and community basketball. Retired Firefighter Robert DiPietro told The Courant that Yagmin had accomplished a lot before falling victim to drugs.
“I met Mike Yagmin when he was a new recruit,” DiPietro wrote. “When it was time for the recruits to graduate, a ceremony was held to put their badges on them. Friends and relatives came to pin badges on the new firefighters. I noticed no one was there to put the badge on Mike. I got up, went up front and pinned his badge on his shirt. He was overjoyed.
“From that day forward I was considered Mike’s mentor,” wrote DiPietro, who kept in touch with Yagmin for years after retiring to Arizona. “Mike was a sharp guy who knew the business. He knew how to study and was good at his job. One of the traditions I have is to bestow upon my friends some of the badges and insignias that I wore when I was a firefighter. I sent Mike my lieutenant’s badge for him to wear. He was overjoyed with pride and wore it on his uniform.
“In my conversations with Mike I started to figure out that Mike was not happy with the job. He had trouble relating to the leadership at the time because of his outspokenness and his rebellious attitude,” DiPietro wrote. “Mike grew disenchanted with the job and I started to lose touch with him.”
DiPietro said he was saddened to learn of Yagmin’s involvement in the drug ring.
“I was disappointed with Mike. I felt his life spiraled downhill. Drugs were the cause,” DiPietro wrote. “In my generation in the fire department the drug of choice was alcohol. I watched many of my colleagues, friends and firefighters that I worked with succumb to the addiction. Alcohol addiction was ignored in our fire department.”
DiPietro credited how New Britain dealt with the 2022 drug scandal.
“The current leadership of the New Britain Fire Department handled the recent drug situation extremely well. Violators were given a chance to recover their job with addiction therapy. This was a courageous action by the leadership of the fire department. They were able to save many lives and keep them on the job and fulfill their duty to the city,” he wrote. “Unfortunately Mike was terminated, not necessarily an incorrect decision. It looks like treatment was never held for Mike.”
DiPietro called on fire commanders to keep close watch over the well-being of firefighters.
“Our job as firefighters is difficult enough without the added burden of addiction issues. Whether it’s alcohol, painkillers or other types of drugs we must be courageous to identify individuals that are in need of help that don’t ask for it,” he wrote. “It’s not an easy thing. The membership of the fire department, whether it’s fire chiefs, shift commanders, captains or lieutenants, needs to be vigilant and care for their people.”
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