East Providence Names Its Next Fire Chief

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI — City officials have named Michael Carey as the next chief of the East Providence Fire Department, effective Tuesday.

After interviewing a panel of candidates, Mayor Bob DaSilva appointed Carey to the position of fire chief.

"We are proud to announce that Michael P. Carey has been chosen to serve as East Providence’s Fire Chief," DaSilva said. "He has successfully served as acting chief and has proven his dedication to the East Providence Fire Department and the residents of this great city over his 33 years of service to the department. Under Carey’s leadership, there will be fresh approaches on how to improve systems and a focus on developing new pathways to efficient service while also decreasing costs and saving lives."

Carey, who has served as acting chief since Nov. 18, 2023, has been in fire service for more than 33 years. He served 25 of those years in a supervisory capacity as a fire officer and, the last seven years, as chief officer.

"I am truly honored to be selected by Mayor Dasilva as the 17th fire chief in the long and proud history of the East Providence Fire Department," Carey said. "I have dedicated years of my life to serving in East Providence, and this will be the next exciting chapter in my career."

"As the fire chief, I am excited to work with everyone in our organization to enhance fire and emergency services for the residents of East Providence," Carey added. "We will work tirelessly to keep our community and personnel safe."

A recipient of the Medal of Valor Service Bar, the National Disaster Response Service Bar, and the Citation Service Bar Star, to name a few, Carey began his career as a firefighter with the East Providence Fire Department in 1990 and has risen through the ranks to fire lieutenant, assistant fire marshal, emergency medical services coordinator, fire captain, battalion chief and acting fire chief before being appointed fire chief.

During his time with the department, Carey served as a founding member and the first Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Team’s Operations officer, establishing training and policies to maintain hazardous materials responses capabilities for a 34-member team.

He also wrote, acquired and managed more than $17 million in federal grants for equipment, training and fire station construction, city officials said. Most recently, Carey was responsible for overseeing the $1.4 million renovation and rollout of the city’s public safety communication center.

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