Upper Providence Swears In Asst. Fire Chief And New Firefighter

UPPER PROVIDENCE, PA — Upper Providence Township Supervisors recently swore in Assistant Fire Chief Michael Risell, who began his position with the department back in March 2020 but had been unable to be sworn in due to supervisors holding remote meetings up until now because of COVID-19.

Officials held the swearing-in ceremony during the board’s July 19 meeting, according to a township press release.

Risell has been serving as the assistant fire chief of the Upper Providence Department of Fire and Emergency Services. His background in fire services dates back to when he began as a volunteer with the Skippack Fire Company at 16 years of age, according to the news release. He became a certified emergency medical technician at age 19.

Risell previously spent 21 years as an officer with the Lower Salford Police Department, but he had always dreamed of becoming a firefighter, the news release states.

“Risell’s background as a police officer, an EMT, and a volunteer firefighter gives him a wealth of experience, and we are glad to have his broad perspective of public safety on our team,” Upper Providence Fire Chief Dan Kerrigan said in a statement.

Risell, who is also an instructor with the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy, will be responsible for fire department operations and training in his new role.

“I’m happy to be a part of a strong team that compliments each other,” he said in a statement. “It is an exciting time to be in Upper Providence … with the expansion of personnel and the new building.

During its July 19 meeting, the board of supervisors also swore in Carmen Conicelli as a full-time firefighter and EMT for the township’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services. Conicelli, too, was not sworn in earlier because of the pandemic.

“Being a firefighter is the best job in the world, and I am truly grateful to have the opportunity to work for Upper Providence Township Department of Fire and Emergency Services. I look forward to being part of the growth and vision of the department,” Conicelli said in a statement. “I have been able to achieve different goals to not only better myself but all of us. It is a true brotherhood and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services is the pure definition of having a TEAM atmosphere.”

According to information in the township news release, Conicelli started in firefighting back when he was 14 years old and became a junior firefighter with the Upper Southampton Fire Company, Station 2 in Bucks County.

His first career position was with the Gladwyne Fire Company Station 24 in Lower Merion Township. Right before joining Upper Providence on a part-time basis in June 2017 he was employed by the Montgomery Township Department of Fire Services.

Conicelli is a Temple University graduate who received his fire training at the Bucks County Department of Public Safety Training Center and the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety Training Center.