Metropolitan Fire Brigade (Melbourne)
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 The MFB Logo |
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| Established: | 1891 |
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| Specialities: | Combatant Authority for Fire, Rescue and Hazmat |
| Volunteers: | None |
| Paid Staff: | 1639 |
| Location: | Melbourne, Victoria |
| Website | Official MFB Website |
- This page is about the Melbourne, Australia based fire service. For the fire service which operated in London between 1865 and 1904, see London Fire Brigade.
The Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB), also known as the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board, provides firefighting, rescue, and hazardous material incident response services to the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The MFB's headquarters are located with Fire Station 1 (Eastern Hill) in East Melbourne.
As of 2007, the current Chief Officer of the MFB is Ken Latta[1].
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[edit] History
In 1890, the Fire Brigades Act was passed in December after several serious fires in the previous year. The aim was to unite rival fire brigades in Victoria. The first meeting of the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) board was held on 6 March 1891. This led to the disbanding of the 56 volunteer brigades in Melbourne on 30 April 1891 with an invitation to join extended to any fire fighter who wished to.[2].
The first Annual Report of the MFB stated the strength as "59 permanent firefighters, 229 auxiliary firefighters, 4 steam fire engines, 25 horse drawn hose carts and 58 hose reels... 33 horses and 48 stations". In 1950, volunteer and partly paid fiefighters were disbanded for only fulltime firefighters. September 1988 saw the first female firefighters introduced to the MFB[2].
[edit] Structure
The MFB currently has 47 fire stations in four zones: central, northern, southern and western. These zones cover an area of 1,096 square kilometres in the Melbourne metropolitan area[3].
Despite now being regarded as part of Melbourne, outer metropolitan areas such as Dandenong, Melton, and Werribee are serviced by the Country Fire Authority.
As of 2005, the MFB had 1639 operational staff, 245 corporate staff, 49 temporary staff, and 22 trainees and apprentices [4].
[edit] Appliances and Equipment
The MFB operates a range of appliances to match the varied firefighting and rescue roles it provides. All stations have at least one Pumper or Pumper Tanker, while some stations also have more specialised appliances such as Water Tankers, Ladder Platforms, Telebooms, Heavy Rescue trucks, or other support vehicles. [5]
[edit] First Responder
At the request of the Metropolitan Ambulance Service and after a series of trials in the 1990s, the MFB introduced the EMR (emergency medical response) First Responder program, where specially equipped fire engines and firefighters would respond to cases of cardiac arrest to provide CPR and defibrillation [6]. EMR First Responder has reduced the response time to cardiac arrest cases by two minutes inside the MFB's area and as of 2005 had saved over 50 lives.
[edit] See also
- Australasian Fire Authorities Council
- Country Fire Authority
- Country Fire Service
- New South Wales Fire Brigades
[edit] References
- ^ Executive Management Team Member Profiles MFB website
- ^ a b http://www.mfb.org.au/default.asp?casid=569#act Taken from MFB website and accessed 22 May 2007, Originally from "Life Under The Bells" by Sally Wilde (ISBN 0 582 87023 2) published by Longman Cheshire in 1991 on the occasion of the centennial of the Board
- ^ http://www.mfb.org.au/default.asp?casid=27 - Knowing the MFB (Zones and Maps)
- ^ Our People : Metropolitan Fire & Emergency Service Board Annual Report 2005
- ^ http://www.mfb.org.au/default.asp?casid=188 - Knowing the MFB (Stations)
- ^ http://www.mfb.org.au/default.asp?casid=585 - First Responder Program
