The Pontiac Fire Department is an organizational and operational public safety service of the City of Pontiac. Established in 1877, the Pontiac Fire Department provides fire, rescue and emergency medical assistance for the City's 11,800 residents. In addition to providing services within the City of Pontiac limits, these same services are provided to a large rural area outside the City. This rural area is known as the Pontiac Rural Fire Protection District, with a population of 3,500. The Pontiac Fire Department provides these services as the result of a contractual agreement between the City of Pontiac and the Pontiac Rural Fire Department District. The "rural district" is comprised of all or portions of eight townships (approximately 110 square miles). The Pontiac Fire Department also routinely responds to calls for assistance from all our fire departments and districts through mutual-aid agreements.

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In 2020, the Pontiac Fire Department responded to over 1,800 incidents.  These incidents included fires, medicals, rescues, hazardous materials operations, and mutual-aid calls to other communities.

The Pontiac Fire Department is a combination department that currently has a 31 member roster which is comprised of a Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, Assistant Chief (Part-Time), 2 Captains, 3 Lieutenants, and 18 Firefighters (6 Full-Time / 10 Part-Time / 2 Volunteers). The Full-Time Firefighters are represented by the IAFF Local 3239.  The Pontiac Fire Department Administration and IAFF Local 3239 work together towards common goals.  In addition to fire personnel, there are also 6 ESDA Volunteers that assist the department with support functions such as weather spotting and operating the Incident Command System during large-scale incidents.  

The Pontiac Fire Department provides protection to a highly diverse group of hazards including; The Illinois Department of Corrections – Pontiac Prison, the Livingston County Jail and Courthouse, Illinois State Police District 6 Headquarters, seven miles of the I-55, Amtrak, a small municipal airport, Vermilion River, a Caterpillar plant, a crude oil storage facility, and several grain elevators.

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