The Augusta Fire Department has a new tool to fight fires.

Off the 3100 block of Deans Bridge Road stands a tall, steel building with smoke pouring out of it. The fire department is on the scene to extinguish the flames within minutes, but there is no sense of panic or worry at this fire.

This is a controlled fire drill in the Augusta Fire Department's latest facility. There are safety measures in place to ensure a fire never gets out of control, yet the scenario still provides the firefighters with a realistic experience.

While finishing touches are still being added to the facility, Augusta firefighters are able to test out the building and the fire control systems to ensure everything is in working order.

The four-story, $4.7 million building will be used to train firefighters from across the CSRA and will be a huge convenience for the Augusta Fire Department.

"We don't have to send people out of town. We can do [the training] here,” says Augusta Fire Chief, Howard Willis. “We can get more people through it by having our own facility here and we can get other fire fighters in the area included in the training as well."

The facility can safely train firefighters in hundreds of fire scenarios because of the safety measures in place. But with smoke generators and temperatures inside the building able to reach in excess of 800 degrees, it will feel just like the real thing to those training in the building.

"We can do most anything you can think of in the process,” says Chief Willis. “We've got one room that's got a bed in it. We have an elevator shaft that we can do rescue, we can do rope rescue. Anything you can think of in the emergency services we can do here."

It's a facility that will pay off as much for the people of Augusta, as it will the fire department.

“It's worth it to us and our citizens,” says Chief Willis. “We were one of the largest east of the Mississippi that did not have its own training facility, so it going to help with insurance premiums for citizens in our area.”

Better than saving in insurance costs, it's the life saving skills Augusta firefighters are perfecting that people will appreciate the most.