Firefighter gets to reveal retirement 'Deal'

Peter Johnson, a firefighter from Poquonnock Bridge Fire Department in Groton, came on "Deal or No Deal" last fall wanting to win enough to retire.

After the episode aired Friday, everyone learned about his $70,000 retirement gift.

"Deal or No Deal, Peter Johnson?" was famously uttered by game-show host Howie Mandel.

Johnson, a Columbia resident, was a firefighter for 30 years at Poquonnock Bridge, retiring in late December 2009. He promised on his television appearance that if he won enough money, he would retire from all work pursuits and use his winnings to pay off his home mortgage and "travel the world" in his RV with his wife, Ellen.

He spent Friday afternoon watching the show at a sports bar surrounded by a giant crowd of family and friends.

The syndicated version of "Deal or No Deal" came to Sonalysts Studios in Waterford last year, and scores of locals got the chance to be a part of the production, but only a select few got the chance to be a contestant. An NBC Universal spokeswoman estimated that in the five months the show was filmed here, about 20 percent of the contestants who actually played the game were from Connecticut.

In the time since Johnson's episode was shot, he was unable to tell anyone because of a confidentiality agreement. Friday was the day everyone finally learned if he made a good deal.

Wearing his fire company uniform, Johnson smiled and danced wildly on stage as the cases opened up one by one, revealing low numbers, and increasing his chance to be a half-million-dollar winner.

"Your time is coming baby," one firefighter said.

At one point he was offered $30,000.

"That could do some serious damage in putting me on the road to retire. And that's a beautiful thing, but is it enough?" Johnson said.

The "Deal or No Deal" firefighter edition featured firefighters from around the area, including New London Battalion Chief Thomas Curcio, who tried to persuade Johnson to go further, egging him on and calling him a "risk-taker."

Johnson went one more round, increasing his chances for the half million, then took the banker's offer of $70,000, triggering an eruption of applause.

"I'm a little heartbroken," Johnson said on the show about not winning the jackpot. "But I'm in pretty good shape right now."

a.renczkowski@theday.com