on 3 November 1893. The building contained living quarters, stables, workshops, and offices. A watchtower was initially manned 24 hours a day. Firefighters lived on the premises until the 1970s. In 1950, volunteer and partly-paid firefighters were discontinued in favour of solely full-time fire service. In September 1988, female firefighters were permitted to join the MFB. The MFB had more than 2200 employees, including over 1900 firefighters and almost 350 corporate staff. In 2019, legislation to abolish the MFB and replace it with a new organisation, Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV), passed the Parliament of Victoria. When the changes are implemented in 2020, FRV will assume all of the functions of the MFB, as well as employing all paid firefighters across the state, including those on the outskirts of Melbourne and in regional cities previously employed by the Country Fire Authority. Functions The functions of the MFB are set out in section 2 of the Metropolitan Fire Brigades Act 1958 as being to provide fire suppression and fire prevention services as well as emergency prevention and response services in the Metropolitan Fire District. The MFB responds to about 38,000 calls per year for a range of Emergencies including: fires (structure, non-structure, bushfire) hazardous incidents road accident rescue emergency medical response (with Ambulance Victoria) automatic alarm response high angle rescue urban search and rescue marine response Fire stations and appliances The Metropolitan Fire District (MFD) encompasses over 1000 square kilometres of Metropolitan Melbourne, with 47 strategically placed Fire Stations to ensure a timely response to emergencies. The MFB fire stations are listed below under the five districts which make up the MFD. Central District, Western District and Northern District combine as the North West Metro Region, while Southern District and Eastern District form the South East Metro Region. North West Metro Region Central District Western District Northern District South East Metro Region Southern District Eastern District Fire appliance glossary 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. Breathing Apparatus Unit (BA) Breathing Apparatus Support (BS) Command Unit (CU) Decontamination Unit (Hazmat) District Car (DC) Fire Boat (FB) Ladder Platform (LP) Pumper (P) Pumper Tanker (PT) Rescue (R) Rehabilitation Unit (Rehab) Teleboom