Groton — Poquonnock Bridge Fire Department Chief Joseph Winski is retiring Tuesday after 50 years in fire service, the last 5½ of them spent overhauling the fire company that serves the town's commercial district and a densely populated residential area.

Winski, 66, of Norwich, said, "It feels good, and it doesn't, at the same time," to be taking off his fire chief's hat. He's been on call more often than not for most of his life and has witnessed more tragedy than most. He went to a fire scene as recently as Friday.

"You're going to feel like you lost your best friend and you hit the lottery in the same day," he said over the phone as he contemplated retirement.  

A celebration for Winski is planned for Tuesday at the firehouse, and Deputy Fire Chief Timothy Driscoll, who has 23 years of service with PBFD, will be sworn in as chief on July 1.

During his tenure at Poquonnock Bridge, Winski worked with the firefighters' union and the fire district board that oversees the department's operations to repair relationships and finances that had eroded in recent years. The department was able to rehire firefighters who had been laid off prior to his arrival, obtain a new ladder truck and engine, install a new communications system, replace the roof of the Long Hill Road station and win between $300,000 and $400,000 in grants to offset costs. The PBFD closed its second firehouse on Fort Hill Road and consolidated operations into one building during his tenure, and the tax rate remained steady.

The fire department has an annual budget of $5.2 million, employs 25 firefighters, a chief, deputy chief, fire marshal and two administrative staff members.

"He helped guide us through a tough time in our history, maintaining that it was important to work things out and rebuild relationships," incoming Chief Driscoll said of Winski. "He stressed that teamwork is the key to success and how important it is for the department to be part of the community we serve. His biggest thing he used to say was not to make a decision when angry, and that a person can never be more important than an organization."

Winski's half-century of fire service began in 1969, when at age 16 he joined the East Great Plain Fire Department in Norwich as a volunteer. He eventually served 11 years as East Great Plain chief.

He worked as a paid firefighter at Electric Boat and at the University of Connecticut. He served as a dispatcher for the Norwich Police Department for two years and spent 17 years in state courts, first as sheriff and later a judicial marshal.

Arriving in Groton, Winski quickly formed bonds with the firefighters, who he said never left him alone when his beloved wife, Cindee, got sick and died just eight months into his tenure at Poquonnock Bridge.

"The union president said to me, 'Chief, you had our back, and now we got yours,'" Winski said.

When the opioid crisis intensified, Winski and his fire company struggled with how to help families who asked them questions after their loved ones overdosed. They formed a relationship with the grassroots group Community Speaks Out to provide families with information and obtain services.

Ron Yuhas, chairman of the Poquonnock Bridge Fire District board, joked that he'd like Winski to stay on for another 20 years but said the transition will be easy, since Winski and Driscoll have worked closely together.

"He's been a great asset to the department, and we've got a very good relationship now between the union and firefighters and chief and deputy chief, and a lot of that is because Joe is there," Yuhas said. "He's a good guy, and everybody loves him."

Old Mystic Fire Chief Kenneth W. Richards Jr. said he knew Winski was a stand-up guy since they worked together at Electric Boat in the 1980s and Winski saved his honeymoon. Richards said Winski noticed he was stressed out after being told he couldn't take the week after his wedding off, because too many people, including Winski, had already requested the week off.

Winski made a phone call and told him, "'You're all set,'" Richards remembered. "Joe and his wife changed their week in Disneyland to let Gerrie and I go on our honeymoon," he said.

More recently, Winski would visit him about once a week for coffee and to "unload" whatever was on his mind, Richards said.

Winski said he and his girlfriend plan to kick off his retirement with a motor home trip to visit family in Charleston, S.C. He said he was fortunate to meet her, because she had lost her husband and understood what he was going through after Cindee's death in 2015.

He had hesitated to take the Poquonnock Bridge job, Winski said, but Cindee told him, "'There's only one person in this world who could help those guys, and it's you.' She said, 'Listen, think with your head and decide with your heart.'"

k.florin@theday.com