Chief Kelley is a Lifelong Montgomery County resident who grew up in old Garrett Park. He went to Good Counsel High School and then graduated from Mount Saint Mary’s University with a degree in Business Administration.

He has lived in the greater Olney area since 1988 and has four grown children and seven grandchildren.

Chief Kelley has been a Firefighter/EMT volunteer in Montgomery County since 1974, and a Member of Sandy Spring VFD since 1994; he has been Fire Chief of the SSVFD from 2013 to 2019.

He is a retired Administrative Officer from Kensington Fire Department where he served from 1984-2014. In 2012, he was appointed by the County Executive to the Montgomery County Fire & Emergency Services Commission.

In addition to serving as the SSVFD Fire Chief, he is also a Program Manager for the Montgomery County Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association. Adding to Chief Kelley’s distinguished resume are other community activities such as serving as Past President of Montgomery County Volunteer Fire-Rescue Association (1994-1995) and Past President of Greater Olney Civic Association (2000-2001). He is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Maryland Fire Chiefs Association, and Maryland State Firemen’s Association.

On Tuesday, May 14, 2019 Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service (MCFRS) Fire Chief Scott E. Goldstein announced that the County Council confirmed County Executive Marc Elrich’s recommendation of A. Michael Kelley as Division Chief of the MCFRS Division of Volunteer and Community Services. Effective 5/15/2019, Chief Kelley resigned as Chief of the SSVFD in order to take the new position with MCFRS and SSVFD Deputy Chief Mitchell Dinowitz began serving as Acting Fire Chief of the Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department until Departmental elections are held on June 12, 2019.