Fire and Life Safety Public Education

The Pontiac Fire Department takes great pride in being involved in the community and educating the public on life safety and fire prevention.  Please contact Lieutenant Michael Jahn at Michael.Jahn@pontiac.org or call (815) 842-3225 to schedule any of the following services our department has to offer:

Firehouse Tours: The Pontiac Fire Department is open 24 hours a day and 365 days of the year.  Our personnel enjoy welcoming the public into our beloved firehouse and giving tours of our fire apparatus and equipment.  The public is always welcome into our home if we are not out on an emergency call.  We do recommend calling ahead if you plan on bringing a large group of people to visit us.

Public Speaking Engagements: Our personnel have a wide variety of experiences and training in safety and would greatly enjoy sharing their knowledge with the community.  Please contact us if you would like our firefighters to come to your event or meeting to speak about safety!

Home and Life Safety Education Trailer: Thanks to the efforts of retired Fire Chief Scott Runyon our county has a fully equipped safety trailer that helps firefighters educate citizens on how to escape a fire at their residence.  If  you would like to visit us at the firehouse or have us come to an event please contact us to schedule the safety trailer.   

Fire Extinguisher Training:  If your business wants to learn the proper use of fire extinguishers in controlling incipient-stage fires, call the Pontiac Fire Department at least 4 weeks prior to your requested date of training.  We will give a presentation that will explain the different types of fires, how to select the proper extinguisher based on those fire types, and general rules for safely using extinguishers.  Finally, everyone will get the opportunity to practice using a real portable extinguisher on a live fire.  Our personnel prefer to use the same type of extinguishers you have on hand at your facility so that your employees are familiar with the equipment they would have to use in an emergency.

Blood Pressure Screenings:  Pontiac Fire Department offers free blood pressure checks at our fire station.  You will be given a wallet-size blood pressure check card where your blood pressure can be recorded for each visit. This data can be then relayed to your physician if needed.

Prudent heart living is a lifestyle that may minimize the risk of future heart disease. One of the components that make up prudent heart living is maintaining a normal blood pressure.

The normal blood pressure for an adult is approximately 120/80. However, a "normal" blood pressure can vary for individuals depending on many factors, age, size, medications, fitness, level, etc.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure, called hypertension is associated with a greater risk of heart attack. Hypertension is often referred to as the silent killer because many times there are no outward signs. Untreated hypertension increases the risk of stroke, heart attack, and kidney failure.