What Happened
More than 400 people gathered in Huntington on Sunday, August 16, 2026, to honor Mason Kraese, a 27-year-old Huntington Manor volunteer firefighter killed in an ATV accident in 2025, according to News 12 Long Island. The event was a fundraiser for the Mason Kraese Blue Collar Memorial Foundation and raised thousands of dollars for trade scholarship recipients.
Kraese had served as a volunteer firefighter with the Huntington Manor Fire Department for six years. He also worked in multiple trades over the course of his life. The foundation now awards scholarships to students pursuing trade careers, channeling the same work he did into support for the next generation entering those fields.
Kraese’s father, Phillip Kraese, spoke at the event. “I miss him. It’s all I can really say. I just really miss him,” he said. His younger brother, Gunnar Kraese, said Mason “was the best. He really was,” and noted the crowd of more than 400 was a reflection of the community’s regard for him. “Too many good memories with him,” Gunnar Kraese said.
Gunnar Kraese said his brother would have embraced the foundation’s mission. “He would have loved it. He really would have. Because this is what he worked for in life,” he said, per News 12 Long Island.
Huntington Manor firefighter Rob Burnham also spoke about Kraese. “We adored him and we miss him dearly,” Burnham said. “But it’s phenomenal. I mean, the love and support that you had for him here today — it shows the type of person that Mason really was. A great firefighter, great person in general and a great teammate to us.”
Location & Road Context
The fundraiser was held in Huntington, in Suffolk County, where Kraese lived in the Huntington Manor hamlet. Huntington Manor is home to the volunteer fire department where Kraese served for six years. For road and traffic conditions in the Huntington area, see Long Island Traffic’s local coverage.
Broader Impact
The Mason Kraese Blue Collar Memorial Foundation targets a direct gap in trade-career funding on Long Island. Scholarship recipients must be pursuing a trade, matching Kraese’s own career path across multiple skilled trades before his death at 27. The foundation’s fundraising total from the August 16 event was reported in thousands of dollars, with the precise figure not released by organizers as of the News 12 filing at 10:30 p.m. that evening.