Burns had earlier won the toss and put Notts into bat on a green-hued surface.
The visitors fought hard to build a competitive total but with Atkinson looking a particularly difficult proposition in the conditions, it was Surrey – chasing four successive titles – who will be the happier of the two teams following the opening exchanges.
Haseeb Hameed, the Notts captain, was put down at first slip on seven but the unlucky bowler, Atkinson, was celebrating a couple of overs later when he edged again on nine and Ollie Pope scooped up a good low catch to his left at second slip.
Then came the best Notts batting of the day with left-handers Ben Slater and Freddie McCann showing skill and self-discipline to make it through to lunch at 75-1 and, afterwards, to extend their second wicket partnership to 64 in 24 overs of hard graft.
Fisher’s second spell, however, brought McCann’s downfall for 34 and then Slater’s four overs later for an excellent 50, from 95 balls.
Thin edges through to keeper Ben Foakes accounted for them both, with Fisher being rewarded for some probing fast-medium that also gave the batsmen very little to hit.
Atkinson was then recalled for his own second spell, again from the Pavilion End, and with his fifth ball back he had Jack Haynes leg-before for 13 to leave Notts suddenly looking vulnerable at 132-4.
Joe Clarke, whose 29 contained some of the best and most authoritative strokes of the day, edged the testing Atkinson to Foakes.
And after tea was taken early because of the afternoon’s second short rain shower it was Atkinson who sent the Notts innings into further decline.
Lyndon James, beaten multiple times by Atkinson in a fraught 17, chipped to mid-wicket and Dan Worrall finally got into the act by having Liam Patterson-White caught behind for eight from the last ball of his 16th over.
Notts’ 174-7 soon became 187-8 when Fisher replaced Atkinson, who had taken 3-19 in nine overs either side of tea.
South Africa wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne was leg-before for 13, aiming towards mid-wicket, and Fisher kept running in to add the scalps of Josh Tongue and last man Pennington.
Tongue gave Foakes his fifth catch of the innings as he tried to drive and Pennington’s useful 14 was ended by an inswinger into his pads after he and Hutton, who pulled Fisher for six in a defiant 30 not out, had added 28 for the 10th wicket.
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