‘Lifesaving’ fire chief dies after skiing accident, NC town says
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The fire chief who was seriously hurt in a “skiing accident” over the weekend died Monday, according to the North Carolina town where he worked.
Atlantic Beach shared the sad news about the death of Adam Snyder on its Facebook page just before 5 p.m.
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the death of Atlantic Beach Fire Chief Adam Snyder,” read the post, which said “Snyder succumbed to injuries sustained in a snow skiing accident this afternoon at the University of Virginia Medical Center.”
The 47-year-old was on a family trip Saturday at the Wintergreen Resort in Virginia when he was “critically injured,” WITN reports.
Snyder served as chief of the Atlantic Beach Fire Department for 15 years, the town previously wrote on Facebook.
“During his fire-fighting career he has become renowned in Eastern North Carolina by his numerous personal first responder involvements and lifesaving actions,” the post said.
People with messages of support for Snyder shared their comments on Facebook and a GoFundMe page that was created to benefit the fire chief and his family.
“We are deeply hurt by hearing about Chief Snyder’s condition,” one person wrote on GoFundMe. “Our hearts go out to his family and to our close nit town. Prayers to all.”
Curtis Sheets, chief of Wintergreen Fire & Rescue, said on Facebook “Of course our thoughts and prayers are with Chief Snyder, his family, and all of our brother and sister firefighters touched by his obvious leadership in the entire Coastal-Carolina region.”
The resort’s “ski patrol” responded at about 12 p.m. Saturday to a “more difficult” slope, where they found Synder was the only person in an accident, WITN reports.
Atlantic Beach said the fire chief was taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center and was in “critical condition,” before sharing the news of his death.
“His remarkable work in Atlantic Beach and with local firefighting academies led him to become one of the most respected Fire Chiefs in North Carolina,” the town’s Facebook page said. “On behalf of all Town employees and the citizens of Atlantic Beach we extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Fire Chief Adam Snyder.”
In less than 45 minutes after Atlantic Beach shared the news on Facebook the post has garnered more than 1,500 reactions, has had 500-plus people make comments and it has been shared more than 1,400 times.
This story was originally published March 11, 2019 at 2:41 PM.
