In hopes of keeping up with the Plain Township Fire Department's expanding needs, officials intend to purchase a new truck to better serve the growing community.

John Hoovler, PTFD chief, asked the Plain Township trustees Nov. 4 to put a $15,000 down payment on a motor to eventually put inside a new truck the department plans to purchase in the near future.

Trustees unanimously approved the resolution to put the down payment on the motor from the Amlin-based Sutphen Corp.

Hoovler said the payment would lock in the price for the motor and would be refundable if the township were to decide not to purchase the fire engine in which the motor would be placed.

He said Sutphen representatives had mentioned a 2- to 4-percent increase in the price after the first of the year.

He said he intends to return to the trustees Nov. 18 with another resolution to purchase the fire truck.

"We are hoping we can work out all the details and sign the contract by the end of this year," Hoovler said. "Come Jan. 1, they can increase the price on the state bid, and we want to get under that."

Though township officials might vote this year to purchase the truck, it would not be delivered until late 2010, he said.

Lt. Travis Dudley, who chairs the department's truck committee, said a new truck, including the motor, would cost about $550,000.

Hoovler said one of the main reasons the department wants to purchase the truck now, as opposed to next year, is to dodge the new 2010 emission standards, which would require fire engines to stop emitting nitrogen oxide, among other requirements.

"The motor won't be subject to those standards," Hoovler said. "They (the motors) are in big demand right now because of the emission standards. There are a lot of unknowns because nobody's done it yet."

Dudley said he is concerned that the first trucks produced to comply with the new emission standards might not be as reliable as the ones produced a few years down the road.

"There are a lot of unknowns," he said.

Hoovler said purchasing the motor -- and eventually the engine -- is part of the larger plan to add a second engine company.

The department currently runs one engine company and one ladder company, with four firefighters on each company.

The department owns one ladder truck and two fire engines and would use one of the older engines as a backup after the new engine is purchased.

He said the PTFD is slated to hire three new firefighters in 2010, with one employee working on each of the three shifts.

"We're trying to plan for the future," Hoovler said. "We can save money by buying it now."

gmartineau@thisweeknews.com