Manchester Fire-Rescue-EMS is one of two fire departments serving the town of Manchester, Connecticut; the northwest portion of Manchester is covered by a separate fire department, the Manchester Eighth Utilities Fire District. First organized in 1897 as the South Manchester Fire Department, MFRE became the Town of Manchester Fire Department in 1956; the current name was adopted in 1997. Manchester's firefighters serve a community of 60,000 located less than 10 miles from Hartford; much of the town is a bedroom community for that city, but Manchester is also home to the Buckland Hills Mall, which is a major shopping attraction.