For several years, North Fayette firefighters have had trouble keeping up with township growth -- literally.

As the pace of development has risen, firefighting equipment has not kept pace and firefighters have struggled to reach rooftops with their truck's 55-foot ladder. But plans are under way to resolve that dilemma.

The township and its volunteer fire department have joined forces to purchase a $880,000 truck with an elevated platform that will be able to lift firefighters as high as 100 feet. Supervisors plan to enter into a 10-year, lease-purchase agreement for the truck next month.

Fire Chief Tim Murray said the construction of tall commercial and residential buildings, as well as houses with large setbacks from the street, make the truck essential.

"Everything keeps going up height-wise," Chief Murray said. "We can't do our job if we can't reach it."

The truck would be manufactured by Sutphen Corp. of Amlin, Ohio, and delivered by February or March next year.

The township would pay about two-thirds of the cost, or $630,000. The resulting $74,000 annual payment, with about 3.8 percent interest, would come from the general fund, supported by this year's 0.3-mill property tax increase, Manager Bob Grimm said.

The fire department would take out a loan for the remaining $250,000, plus pay about $75,000 for hoses and other equipment.

Township officials and firefighters had discussed buying the truck for at least five years, but progress was slowed by disputes about who would pay for it. The township, which gave the fire department an operating subsidy of $236,000 this year, said it couldn't afford the truck and wanted the fire department to share the cost.

"With the growth we've had, and some of the size of the buildings we have, we recognize that we need the equipment that will provide the protection necessary for those buildings," Mr. Grimm said. "It's a lot of money to pay out, but the value you get out of this with the protection we're going to be able to provide to our businesses and residents far outweighs what the cost is."

Mr. Grimm added that a fire June 11 in a two-level townhome at Hawthorne Manor "kind of brought home that need." In that incident, firefighters found that their 55-foot ladder was insufficient to respond to a natural-gas-fed fire, which damaged four units.

McDonald firefighters were able to reach the roof with their 77-foot ladder truck.

"A situation like we had in Hawthorne, unfortunately, that is something that could happen elsewhere because of the way the homes are built," said Gary Hamilton said, deputy fire chief. "That's why it's nice to have a truck like what we are purchasing."