Thomas V. Vallee, Fire Chief
Jake Peterson, Captain
Tim Grasser, Captain
Jim Popken III, Captain
Rick Addicks, Engineer
Rick Rosecrans, Engineer

Mario Juarez, Engineer
Matt White, Apprentice Firefighter
Mike Gutierrez, Apprentice Firefighter
Justin Hanson, Apprentice Firefighter
Chris Friscia, Apprentice Firefighter

Tom has been a member of the Ross Community since 1961. He became a volunteer firefighter in 1975. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1980 with a BA in Environmental Studies. In 1981 he rejoined the department as a full time Captain. In 1993, he was promoted to Administrative Captain in charge of the Fire division. In August 2008, the Town appointed him Fire Chief. Tom holds a Masters of Public Administration degree from USF that he completed in 2001. In addition to administering daily department duties he also is the Fire Marshal and the Emergency Disaster coordinator for the Town. Tom and his wife Tami live in Windsor. He has two grown children Amanda and Matt.

Phone: (415) 453-1453 ext. 157
Contact Thomas V. Vallee via Email

Jake grew up in Ross and started as a volunteer firefighter in 1992 at the age of 18. Jake became a full time firefighter in 1996 and was promoted to Captain in 2001. He is the department's operation officer. Jake holds a bachelors degree in occupational studies from CSU Long Beach. He lives in San Rafael with his wife Bridget and children Leah and Cody.

(415) 453-1453 ext. 158
Contact Jake Peterson via Email

Tim joined the department in May of 1998 as a Firefighter. He was appointed to the rank of Captain in August 2008. Tim is currently assigned to the "B" shift and is the department Training Officer. Tim lives locally with his wife and two small children.

(415) 453-1453 ext. 159
Contact Tim Grasser via Email

Jim joined the department in August of 2000 as a Firefighter. He was appointed to the rank of Engineer in January 2002 and is currently the Acting Captain on the "C" shift. Jim lives in Marin with his wife Charlotte and two small children, Else and Gavin.

(415) 453-1453 ext. 160
Contact Jim Popken via Email

Rick has been an Engineer with the department since 2002, and is a certified Fire Officer. He is a member of the Marin County Urban Search & Rescue Team, RTF-1, and specializes in Water Rescue with OES Team 11. In addition, Rick sits on the executive board of the Marin Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 1775. He lives in Bel Marin Keys with his wife Kristen and two kids, Casey and Mairead, and enjoys surfing, traveling, and playing music.

(415) 453-1453 ext. 161
Contact Rick Addicks via Email

Rick started as a volunteer for the department in June of 2004 after completing the Santa Rosa Junior College Fire Academy. Rick was hired as a Reserve Firefighter in 2005 and this position developed into an Apprentice Firefighter position in 2006. Rick was offered full time employment as an Engineer in September 2008. He is the Department's Muscular Dystrophy Association representative. Rick lives in Novato with his wife and two children.

(415) 453-1453 ext. 151
Contact Rick Rosecrans via Email

Mario attended San Rafael High School and then attended the College of Marin EMT certification program finishing in 2003. Mario began volunteering with the department in June 2004. He then attended the Santa Rosa Junior College Fire Academy in 2006. He was hired as a Reserve Firefighter in 2005, becoming an Apprentice Firefighter in 2006. He currently manages the Get Ready Marin and CERT programs for the department.


(415) 453-1453 ext. 180
Contact Mario Juarez via Email

Mike started his fire career at Windsor Fire Department as a volunteer firefighter in 2006 and worked his way up through the ranks to become a 40 hour per week firefighter in 2008. He was hired as an Apprentice firefighter for our department in November 2008. He is bilingual in Spanish and has an Associate Degree in Fire Technology from Santa Rosa Junior College.

Contact Mike Gutierrez via Email

Justin graduated from Santa Rosa Fire Academy in 2007, and started his fire service experience as a Volunteer Firefighter for Ross Valley Fire Department. He was hired as an Apprentice Firefighter in December of 2009. He lives in Fairfax with his wife Jessica and their two daughters.

Contact Justin Hanson via Email

Chris began his fire service experience as a volunteer for our department in February 2006. He completed the Santa Rosa Fire Academy in 2007 and was hired as a reserve firefighter for Southern Marin Fire in 2008. Chris joined our fire department as an apprentice firefighter in May 2010.

Contact Chris Friscia via Email