An obscure new section of the state fire code on "combustible vegetation" in buildings caught fire Thursday, with lawmakers and at least one city fire chief fretting needlessly that it might ban Christmas trees in churches.

State officials from Gov. Jim Doyle on down scrambled to assure the public that they had no plans to deny churches a central symbol of the holiday season.

"People should have Christmas trees in churches," a bemused Gov. Jim Doyle told reporters, just 10 minutes after being briefed on the flare-up. "I'm going to make sure that the Secretary of Commerce clarifies that there's no ban."

The confusion arose when the state last spring adopted an update of a uniform national fire code in which one section states that "combustible vegetation," including Christmas trees, aren't allowed in churches.

Wausau Fire Chief Gary Buchberger said that because of those rules, he had been forced to tell churches in his area that they could not have Christmas trees starting in the 2009 holiday season. That in turn prompted a letter from lawmakers to the Doyle administration.

But Zach Brandon, the No. 3 official at the state Department of Commerce, said another section of the same fire code permits the trees as long as the local fire chief allows it and the church takes basic precautions such as keeping the tree watered and away from open flames.

To make that clear, Commerce Secretary Dick Leinenkugel prepared a letter for fire chiefs Thursday.

"As the holiday season approaches, there are sure to be questions regarding natural-cut trees in occupancies deemed assemblies," the letter reads. "We trust your judgment relative to permitting natural-cut Christmas trees in your jurisdiction."

Buchberger said that was good enough for him — he just wanted it in writing.

The code perhaps even resolves another simmering controversy over what to call the festive emblem, which some have called a "holiday tree."

It is, according to the National Fire Protection Association's uniform fire code, a "Christmas tree."