Firefighters from small departments are hoping a new law leads to more training opportunities. It's a change that could save departments thousands of dollars.

"Firefighting is one of the most dangerous jobs there is," says Chief Jack Running with Township Fire Department.

Which is why fire chiefs say training is vital.

"This is life-saving training. You can't get this training at the tech school in a burn room. I'm an instructor at CVTC. There's only so many things you can do inside a controlled burn room," says Lt. Jerry Prete with the Altoona Fire Department.

But, up until recently, an added expense put a lot of planned burns on hold for smaller departments.

"You have to be safe and that definitely teaches safety," Chief Running says.

The chief says in recent years, the DNR started strictly enforcing a rule that required fire departments to haul any remaining ash to a certified landfill. Since, the volunteer fire department had no money for that in its budget, it had to pass the sometime thousand dollar cost on to the homeowners who the chief says often rescinded their offers.

"It got to the point where the buildings weren't available," Running says.

But this year's state budget changes that; fire departments can now treat practice burns like actual fires and the ash can be buried on site.

"There are other requirements we always had to meet. Those are good requirements. One of them being an asbestos check," Chief Running says. "Those things are normal common sense safety items. But, this one was kind of above and beyond and a costly item."

Now, the change will get his crews the real life training they need before heading into the flames.

"Past experience. They've been in a building, seen what can happen. They can feel the heat. They know how the fire acts because they've been in that room that's been on fire," Chief Running says. "This is a big help. I'm glad they were able to get it changed for us."

Senator Pat Kreitlow from Chippewa Falls and Representative Scott Suder from Abbotsford sponsored the bill.

If you're interested in donating a house to be a practice burn, you can call your local fire department.