Georgetown Fire Chief Robert Fite has accepted a position as fire chief in Grand Prairie, a city between Dallas and Fort Worth.

While he has not given official notice to the city manager, Fite said he expects to leave in November or December. His official end date should be finalized by the end of the week.

"It's bittersweet on my end. It's about family and going back to Dallas," Fite said. "It's not about money; it's not about being unhappy. That's why it's so tough to leave. I still have stuff to do here."

Fite, who had served as a battalion chief in Richardson, was hired as Georgetown's fire chief in March 2009. He had more than 20 years' experience in Richardson, a suburb north of Dallas.

During his time in Georgetown, Fite worked to change the way the fire department responded to calls, upgraded training and equipment, and began construction on Fire Station No. 5.

"This department has really moved to being a bigger-city, professional department," he said. "That's a big shift from being a small-town fire department. We've really done a 360 on everything we do and have tried to improve on it."

Also during his tenure, voters approved a $29.5 million bond to build a public safety operations and training facility.

"Those are just bricks and mortar, which are nice. They're nice accomplishments, but the real accomplishments are what we've done for the citizens in improving our service delivery," Fite said. "That's what I'm proud of most—we've improved the service to the citizens, and that's the bottom line."