CHELSEA -- Nine-year-old Matthew Albert of Hallowell wouldn't normally get up so early on a Sunday.

But before daybreak, Matthew climbed into the family car with his dad, Michael, and headed to his aunt's property at 55 Davenport Rd. in Chelsea.

This was a day the Hall-Dale Elementary School student had been looking forward to for months.

His aunt and uncle, Jennifer and Frank Brown, contacted the Chelsea Fire Department three months ago and donated an old trailer on their property for a "practice burn." The Browns had built a new home on their land behind the trailer.

For the past two months, Chelsea firefighters were able to implement exercises they need to use in fighting fires for the town's safety. Chelsea Fire Chief Shawn Ramage said the department has done a half dozen training sessions in the trailer.

The actual burn on Sunday only took about a half hour, but the experience of seeing the blaze was both exciting and informative for Matthew. He was able to learn about safety from the firefighters and had an opportunity to see the fire engines.

Black smoke billowed into the sky as Matthew looked on in awe at his aunt's trailer going up in flames.

"I was waiting for this for a really long time," Matthew said. "It was really big. We couldn't get too close because it was really hot. The best part was when the roof fell in. That was fun to watch."

Ramage said live burn training exercises are valuable tools in training firefighters. The department used a smoke machine during the six training sessions to do search and rescue drills and work with air packs and hoses.

Chris Goranson, 20, of Chelsea has only been with the department six months and said this was the first time he witnessed a burning building.

"It was incredible," Goranson said. "It was a new experience for me, watching it go up. It was a great benefit for all of us. We were able to practice with hoses and putting a fire out and protecting other buildings around it. "

Ramage said the about 15 firefighters from the department took part in the practice burn.

Jennifer Brown said the burn was beneficial for both her and the volunteer fire department. It's easier to clean up the debris and less costly than if the family had to haul away the trailer.

Ramage said fire departments have to get approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection before they can conduct a burning exercise. Sometimes there is a cost involved, he said.

"There's a lot of hoops to jump though," Ramage said. "You can't just do it. The last one we had two years ago we had to remove asbestos. The cost was minimal compared to the benefit to the department. It's been very helpful for us. We got a lot of live, hands-on training. It was as close to the real thing as we can get."

Jennifer Brown said neighbors were warned of the planned burn so they wouldn't wake up Sunday morning and be alarmed.

The first grade teacher at the James Bean School in Sidney said her whole family came out to witness the fire. She said her nephew has been anxiously waiting for the building to go up in flames.

When asked if he would someday like to be a firefighter, Matthew said he doesn't think so.

After watching them in action on Sunday, he said "It looked kind of dangerous."

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com