The Tasmania Fire Service, the operational arm of the State Fire Commission, was created in 1979 through the amalgamation of the State Fire Authority, the Rural Fires Board and 22 urban fire brigade boards. It handles emergency response, emergency call handling and dispatch, fire investigation, training, community fire education, building safety, fire equipment sales and service, building and maintaining Tasmania Fire Service vehicles, maintaining a State-wide communications network, and fire alarm monitoring. The State Fire Commission is the peak governing and policy group for the Tasmania Fire Service.