Interim Fire Chief Eric Burnside introduced himself to the mayor and council and summarized fire‑department activity, training and plans. Burnside said he has more than 11 years in the fire service and several years as a chief before joining Hollywood Park in February; he described his qualifications, training and open‑door availability to council and residents.

Burnside reported October run totals of 55 calls: 25 EMS calls and 30 fire or miscellaneous calls; the department had no structure fires inside town limits that month but assisted on structure fires in neighboring jurisdictions. He noted the department’s mutual‑aid requests numbered roughly 123 for the year and that some mutual‑aid responses are standby-only while others result in resources actually rolling to a scene. Burnside explained mutual aid as reciprocal: neighboring departments assist when needed and Hollywood Park reciprocates in turn.

On preparedness and training, Burnside said most staff have completed instructor training and the department sent two arson investigators to the Texas Fire Marshals conference. He said staff are receiving additional EMS training in preparation for a planned transition from Acadian protocols to the University Health System First Responder Organization protocols and medical director, which the chief said will allow paramedics and EMTs to provide a wider set of on‑scene interventions. Burnside said the transition was expected within about two months and that the department will continue community engagement activities such as Santa visits and station tours.

Councilors asked for a breakdown of mutual‑aid calls the department actually staffed versus those for which the town was placed on standby; Burnside agreed to provide that information.