When Long Beach resident Michael Skudin sat down to take the city’s civil service test to become a career firefighter and EMT, he was hoping to pass it. On Jan. 30, he made that dream a reality, graduating from the Westchester Fire Academy — with some hardware.
Skudin, 37, received the Captain Andrew J. DiMaggio Award. The award commemorates the life of Andrew J. DiMaggio, a member of the New Rochelle Fire Department known for his impact on the fire service through his instruction and mentorship. Skudin noted he was excited to bring the skills he learned back to Long Beach and help keep the city safe.
“I was a little surprised,” he said. “To get honored and get acknowledged by the instructors at the academy for the award meant a lot.”
After passing the civil service test, Skudin completed his physical and an agility test. He joined the Long Beach Fire Department in March 2025, but that was only the beginning of the journey.
While at the academy, Skudin underwent a rigorous 21-week training program. The first nine weeks, he spent time learning basic skills like hose stretching, forcible entry and throwing a ladder. Upon completing his national and state testing requirements, Skudin and his peers spent the next 11 weeks performing advanced training, including water rescues and respond to structural collapses.
“It was grueling,” Skudin said. “It turns you into a professional.”
Domenick Dirienzo, a lieutenant at the Eastchester Fire Department and co-director at the academy, said that Skudin grabbed the attention of instructors early.
“He was very capable of performing duties physically,” Dirienzo said. “But his work ethic and grit, when it was time to actually get things moving, is what set him apart over the 21-week period.”
Skudin comes from a family of lifeguards and firefighters. His twin, Ian, is a member of Engine 35 in Harlem. His cousins, Will Skudin and Cliff Skudin, worked on the Long Beach Patrol. Cliff, 42, is also a career firefighter and went through the academy in 2023.
“Cliff left a big impact,” Dirienzo said. “Knowing Michael’s family background and experience, he knew what to expect.”
Outside of his desire to help others, Skudin is a decorated athlete. He was an All-American lacrosse player and the Coastal Athletic Association’s Defensive player of the year in 2011. Hw went on to play professional lacrosse in the MLL for nine years, winning three championships.
Sam Pinto, the president for the Long Beach Firefighters Union, said that Skudin has a “heart of gold.”
“The fact that he won the award is a testament to him, his character, and desire to help others,” Pinto said.
Skudin joins more than 300,000 career firefighters nationwide, according to the National Fire Protection Association. He said the achievement felt like a full-circle moment for him. He recalled a water rescue during his time as a lifeguard in Long Beach, when he and his friend, Kevin King, pulled a man out of the water on Father’s Day in 2013. He noted that the man survived, and the firefighters praised them for following proper rescue procedures.
“It was good to hear,” Skudin recalled. “Now I’m one of those guys running down, maybe helping out a young guy on the beach.”
