Hollywood Park Fire Chief John Butrico announced Sept. 1 he plans to retire Oct. 31, following 36 years of service to Hollywood Park.

According to the news release, Butrico started with Hollywood Park as a volunteer firefighter in 1987.

He completed his certification at Texas A&M University in 1990 and became a part-time firefighter. He then became a full-time firefighter in 1994.

Butrico has since held several city positions, including fire marshal, peace officer, assistant fire chief, EMT and emergency management coordinator.

Butrico sat down with Community Impact to discuss his career and what comes next for him and the city, which is accepting applications for fire chief. Butrico said the city will accept applications until the fire chief’s position is filled. He added he will stay on to provide a smooth transition for his successor.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Who or what inspired you to become a firefighter?

In 1987, I was going to San Antonio College and taking classes to be an architect. Driving by [the Hollywood Park City Hall sign], they were looking for volunteer firemen. So, I popped in, checked it out and started volunteering here. Within a few months, I realized this is what I want to do, and I didn’t want to be an architect.

This is what I was meant to do. It's been a lot of fun. The camaraderie that we have around here, it makes this feel like home.

Any memorable emergency calls?

There's been lots of calls where I felt really good to be able to help somebody, and there are lots of times where we didn’t. We brought some people back, and I've seen children pass away, which is probably the hardest part of the job.

Nothing really stands out as far as making calls, but what really does stand out in my mind over my time here are things that we've done for residents that aren't fire related—helping them move furniture or assist them when someone falls down.

There are other things like putting up someone's smoke detector or helping a lady put her walker together since she just had surgery and couldn't put it together and hold it up herself.

What’s the most significant thing to occur under your tenure?

It’s Santa Claus visiting the homes of citizens. We’d get a list of people who would bring gifts up for their children, and then Santa Claus would bring those gifts to their house. It looks like the gifts actually came from Santa Claus, but we would take them out on a fire truck and give them to the kids.

The look on the kids’ faces and their smiles—and receiving cookies and stuff from the residents—it was all excellent. I think that's probably the biggest thing we've done for this community. We never hear the end of it. The people love it.

Why retire now?

It’s just time, and [last January], I became a grandfather, so it’s time to spend time with my granddaughter. I have some property out in West Texas, so I’ll probably spend some time out there. I've got some honey-do lists at the house. It’s been great working here and serving the community. It’s kind of bittersweet. I don't want to go, but I do want to go and get into the next phase of my life.