Firefighter Casey Skudin, who was assigned to Ladder Company 137 in Rockaway, Queens, was in North Carolina with his wife and children to celebrate his 46th birthday when he died Friday afternoon. His birthday would fall on Father’s Day. “Our family will be healed for eternity,” his wife, Angela Skudin, said in an Instagram post. In a statement, the New York Fire Department described Mr. Skudin’s death as “a terrible tragedy and a loss,” saying it would support his family and colleagues. The accident happened near an entrance gate to Biltmore Estate, a popular tourist attraction in Asheville, when a gust of wind blew a heavy member of a tree, which hit the vehicle, the estate said in a statement. Mr Skudin’s wife and eldest child escaped unharmed. His youngest child was treated for minor injuries, Ms Skudin said in an Instagram post. “This is a catastrophic tragedy and we are deeply saddened by this news. “Our heartfelt thoughts are with the family and their loved ones and we are offering help right now,” said Biltmore Estate. The estate is an extensive 8,000-acre resort and former George W. Vanderbilt Castle. Mr. Skudin, who was a priest in his class at the Fire Academy, had worked for a separate engine company in Brooklyn before moving to the Rockaways ladder house, where he was a skilled lifeguard, according to the Fire Department. In 2009, he was awarded the commemorative medal of the Union of Fire Chiefs of the department, after he entered the water, released, to save a drowned surfer on the beach of 96th Street. Mr. Skudin came from a well-known surf family that operates many popular surf shops and surf courses in Long Beach, Long Island and Rockaway called the Skudin Surf. A lifelong surfer has been a lifeguard for Hempstead, New York for two decades, said his cousin Cliff Skudin. “Casey was an incredible man,” he said. “This is so tragic and it is beyond anything you can imagine.” Mr. Skudin was constantly outdoors, his cousin said, and used to go with his family to Montauk, New York, or on hikes. He competed regularly in triathlon, was on the Fire Department surfing team and was also a CrossFit coach. On Sunday, Skudin Surf assembled a memorial where friends and loved ones could pass by and sign Mr. Skudin’s board, Cliff Skudin said. The store plans to do a ritual rowing in his memory on June 26 at Lido West Beach.
