UNION TOWNSHIP -- There was a time when the Union Township Fire Department ladders could reach any roof in West Chester.
But the ladder trucks can no longer pull through for the firefighters counting on them.
Construction of taller industrial and residential buildings is making the department's two 75-foot ladder trucks almost obsolete and symbols of the strain of development on public services.
The ladders will reach only six stories. With taller buildings, firefighters will have to enter a burning structure at a lower floor and fight the fire or make rescues from within.
Not only is the scenario a scary one for Chief James Detherage, but it also calls for yet another area of expertise.
"It certainly is putting another demand on the training division," Chief Detherage said.
There is no plan to buy a larger ladder truck, which can cost more than $120,000. But equipment is not the only thing feeling the strain of growth.
Another major problem remains in drawing enough volunteer firefighters to handle the number of calls.
The department now averages about nine runs during the day and about three or four at night.
Fewer than 10 years ago, firefighters responded to no more than three runs during the day and about one at night.
The department employs 21 full-time firefighters and 78 volunteer, or paid-on-call, firefighters and emergency medical technicians, Chief Detherage said.
To help handle the growing calls and to staff the two new firehouses being added to the current three, the township has agreed to hire four more full-time firefighters and another 40 volunteers, who make $7.39 an hour for each call.
But attracting the volunteers has become a severe challenge for the department, he said.
"It is a major concern, getting enough paid-on-call people within the community."
ABOUT THE SERIES
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In a four-day series this week, Enquirer reporter Saundra Amrhein, who covers Union Township, will examine the pressure on police, schools, the fire department and parks.
Tuesday: Union Township's 58-member police force often finds itself running from call to call without much time for community police work. While the department expands its force, it struggles to hire people quickly enough.
Wednesday: The Lakota Local School District is bursting at the seams with 14,000 children enrolled in its schools. The district is forced to find creative solutions to handle crowding, including portable classrooms. Are students being affected?
TODAY: Union Township Fire Department owns two ladder trucks that can no longer reach to the top of buildings that have gone up in West Chester. Other problems include outdated equipment and the painstaking effort to find fire volunteers. How is fire protection affected?
Friday: Union Township park and recreation facilities have not kept pace with the booming growth. What does it mean to users of the park system?
How do you feel about this issue? Share your comments about growth in West Chester with Saundra Amrhein. Call 860-7119 or send a fax to 860-5190.
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The problem is twofold:
Volunteers must live within the township, so the department cannot cast a wider net.
The white-collar residents moving to West Chester are not attracted to fire work, Chief Detherage said.
"Our community is predominately made up of managers and upper management. It's not the style of living where a lot of them are going to be fighting fires or running in an ambulance," he said.
The alternative: more full-time firefighters, which costs more.
Chief Detherage has asked the township's board of trustees to put another fire levy on the ballot this fall to raise $2.4 million a year.
The levy he is asking for would cost owners of a $100,000 home $63 a year, according to the Butler County auditor's office.
Trustees agreed the levy is needed, but they have not voted on when the issue would be placed before voters.
Meanwhile, firefighters undergo more complicated and specialized training each year. That includes rescues from confined spaces in case a building collapses, cleaning up hazardous materials and learning various rope knots in order to hoist axes and hoses to the top of a burning building.
That all means more training sessions and more time spent with new recruits.
Veterans notice other none-too-subtle changes.
Bret Hicks, a Union Township resident since 1972 and volunteer firefighter since 1983 before becoming full time four years later, said it was a lot easier getting to fires 10 years ago.
Firefighters were referred to intersections by the farms they abutted and they didn't have to contend with traffic on country roads.
Now, motorists cut off firetrucks and race to beat them at traffic lights.
Every fire is an adventure, even before he arrives at the blaze, Mr. Hicks said.
"It's like a carnival ride. You never know what's going to happen the next minute."
