Fire Chief Mike Hammond
Mike Hammond was born in Montebello, Ca. At the age of 3 Mike’s family moved to Rogue River, Oregon where Mike grew up. At the age of 15 Mike joined the Rogue River Fire District as a sleeper firefighter. After graduating from Rogue River High School in 1984 Mike left to join the United States Navy. Mike served for a total of 9 years with duty assignments aboard the U.S.S. Carl Vinson nuclear powered aircraft carrier and then as an avionics instructor at NAS Miramar, Ca. After the Navy Mike moved back to Oregon where he worked as a long-haul truck driver and a tree climber, but his heart was still in the fire service.
In 2000 Mike became a student firefighter at Rogue River Fire District and attended college full time. Mike was hired by Rogue River Fire District in 2002. In 2003 Mike earned his AAS degree from Rogue Community College and became certified as an Oregon Paramedic. From 2010 to 2020 Mike served as the B shift Captain and Rogue River Fire District’s Operations Officer. In 2019 Mike received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Fire Service Administration from Eastern Oregon University. He is also certified as a Fire Officer III. Mike lives in Rogue River and enjoys rafting, driving his jet boat and riding his Harley Davidson.
Captain Mike Gavlik (Paramedic) - A Shift
Mike Gavlik grew up just outside Boston until his family moved to Oregon when he was 17. He graduated from Brighton Academy in 1991. He became a volunteer firefighter in 1993 and was with the Illinois Valley Fire District for 8 years, he received his EMT-Basic and was promoted to Lieutenant.
In 1996 he was hired by American Medical Response. He went back to school to get his EMT-Intermediate and worked full time for 5 years until getting hired by RRFD in 2002. He still works part time for AMR and has been there for 22 years.
Since getting hired at RRFD, Mike has earned his AAS degree from RCC and became a licensed Paramedic in 2012. He was promoted to Captain/Fire Marshal in 2014 and serves as the District’s Fire Investigator, Fire Code Inspector, and Fire Prevention Officer. Mike is certified as a NFPA Fire Officer IV and ICC/NFPA Inspector I.
When Mike is not working, he spends time with his wife and four children and volunteers as Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 24.
Captain Jarret Estremado (Paramedic) - B Shift
Jarret Estremado was born and raised in Gold Hill, Oregon. He graduated from Crater High School in 2002. He later attended Rogue Community College where he received his EMT-Basic in 2008 and then chose to continue his education to receive his Paramedic Certification in 2011.
Jarret began volunteering at the Rogue River Fire District in 2007 and continued his volunteer time until 2015 when he was hired as a full-time Firefighter/Paramedic employee of the district. He became the Medical Officer for the Rogue River Fire District in 2016. Jarret received a promotion to the B Shift Operations Captain in 2021.
Jarret currently lives in Gold Hill with his wife and two sons and he enjoys serving at his local church.
Captain James Chapman (EMT) - C Shift
James Chapman was born and raised in Prospect, Oregon. He graduated from Prospect High School in 1989. After graduation he pursued a general education degree at the College of the Siskiyou’s and Southern Oregon State College, while playing 3 years of college football.
He became a Volunteer with RRFD in 1997. In 1998 he began the student program. While in the program he received his A.A.S. degree in Fire Science and completed EMT training. During that same time, he also worked for Oregon Department of Forestry. While working at ODF, he started as a swamper for the dozer, then Firefighter on an engine and worked his way up to Forest Officer. He had numerous wildland deployments in Oregon, and was deployed also to New Mexico. He remained in the Forest Officer position until being hired by RRFD n 2003. Since being hired at RRFD as a Firefighter EMT he has moved from Firefighter to Senior Firefighter/AIC, and then became a certified Fire Officer 1. He has acted in many roles in his time at the district, including Fire Marshal/Investigator for a year, Student Coordinator/Training officer and was promoted to Captain in 2021. He enjoys spending time with his family, hunting, fishing, and powerlifting.