Dad Who Died in Fire was Celebrating His 62nd Birthday

The Staten Island dad who perished in an inferno on his birthday late Saturday was an inspiring professor who rose from humble beginnings to touch the lives of thousands, his grieving sons told The Post Sunday.

Anthony Carter, 62, who was killed in a blaze at his home at 59 Pembrook Loop while he was marking his 62nd birthday just before 11 p.m., spent decades guiding young people as a college professor and a volunteer in low-income schools. Now scores are sharing their condolences with his family, according to son Calvin.

“He was an inspiration to so many,” Calvin, 29, told The Post. “We’ve gotten dozens and dozens of messages from people we haven’t spoken to in decades — friends, peers, people we don’t even know — talking about my father.”

Anthony — who was black and grew up the son of a sanitation cop and a homemaker on a still-segregated Staten Island — was the first in his family to earn a college degree, Calvin said.

“He came from nothing,” the son said, choking back tears. “From an early age, my dad wanted to do good for people.”

Anthony obtained a law degree and an MBA, but he turned down jobs on Wall Street for the humble work of teaching — first at Wagner College and then later at Columbia and finally University of New Haven.

Taking public transit, he traveled more than three hours each way to get from his home on the South Shore to the university campus, according Calvin’s twin Walter.

“He was commuting four times a week — he’s 62 so it takes a toll,” Walter said. “He loved teaching his students.”

When he wasn’t teaching business students, he volunteered in low-income-area Connecticut schools, according to Calvin.

“His mission in all that was to inspire people to try to live up to their full potential,” the son said.

The fire sparked while Carter was home with his 9-year-old son, who is recovering from minor burns and smoke inhalation at Staten Island North Hospital, his brothers said.

Investigators believe a candle ignited the blaze.

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