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.
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 firefighters were disbanded for only full-time firefighters. September 1988 saw the first female firefighters introduced to the MFB.
Read more about this topic: Metropolitan Fire Brigade (Melbourne)
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