Cincinnati Fire Chief Roy Winston plans to retire July 24, city officials said Friday.
Winston has been chief since June 2017. Prior to that, he was assistant fire chief of operations and human resources and district fire chief for districts one, four and the fire communications center.
"I want to thank Chief Winston for his steadfast leadership, his care for the firefighters in his charge, and his commitment to the City of Cincinnati," City Manager Paula Boggs Muething wrote. "He has served the citizens of Cincinnati with distinction over the course of his 33-year career and we wish him the best in his retirement and future endeavors."
The city manager's office said the search for a new chief will begin Friday.
Winston was appointed by former City Manager Harry Black and replaced former chief Richard Braun.
He was a regular presence at the scene of the building collapse on Fourth and Elm streets when crews worked around the clock for days to recover the body of Preston Todd Delph.
More recently, he spoke to Cincinnati City Council about the need to ramp up hiring for the department as retirements and COVID-19 have caused overtime budgets to soar.
Four years is a relatively short term for a Cincinnati Fire Chief, but not unprecedented. In recent history, the average term has been about nine years. The longest term in the history of the department was held by Barney Houston, who was chief from 1916 until 1957.
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