Submitted by his wife
Peter joined the Woodmere Volunteer Fire Department at age 18 and served the department as a lieutenant‚ captain and later as the Chief of the department. He became a career firefighter in 1973 when he joined the FDNY. He later was promoted and was a Lieutenant in Rescue 3 in the Bronx for 11 years before returning to his beloved Rescue 2 in Brooklyn where he had served as a firefighter before he was promoted. He received numerous awards for bravery during his career including the Chief John J. McElligott Medal and the Lawrence Fitzpatrick & Gerald Frisby Medal awarded by Mayor Giuliani in 1996 at Medal Day. He retired from the FDNY in 2003. Peter loved the fire service and after his promotion began to teach and train firefighters from across the country. After he retired he joined the staff at the University of Illinois Fire Service Institute. He continued to volunteer in both Woodmere and the Kentland Fire Department in Maryland.
Peter had many hobbies but he really loved photography and began taking pictures of apparatus which were often published in the Fire Apparatus Journal and Firehouse magazine. Later he began to photograph sporting events and was able to photograph his much loved San Diego Chargers and Virginia Tech Hokies from the sidelines. He also had pit passes to photograph Nascar races. He was a model railroader who also took pictures of trains and he was paid by the Yes network to photograph his beloved Yankees at spring training.
Peter married his high school sweetheart and was a devoted husband and father to his children Matthew and Valerie. He coached both children in soccer and had served as a youth soccer coach in his community for many years. He loved his family‚ friends and ‘brothers in blue.’ He was an easy going‚ fun loving‚ friendly‚ funny man who knew how to make every moment count and who enjoyed and embraced each of those moments.
Lt. Peter Lund continues to save lives by way of the firefighters he taught in classroom and the fireground. His spirit lives in every firefighter who knew him and his “Gung Ho” attitude was second to none. He was a great firefighter because he loved it. We miss you Pete, but we remember you every day.
– Joseph Montilli