Firefighters were returning from their station after a children’s charity Halloween event.

The fire crew was traveling on Graham Street in Mt. Ulla on a curvy narrow two-lane road, when the fire chief says a car tried to pass them from behind, making a dangerous move that forced the truck off the road and over on its side.

The driver did not stop after the fire truck ran off the road.

A firefighter suffered minor injuries in the wreck.

The fire truck sustained heavy damage and it took a little over an hour to clear the scene.

The new Emergency Medical Services/ Medical quick Response vehicle was purchased with $40,000 from the New York State and Municipal Facilities program.

The new, four-wheel drive Sport Utility Vehicle replaces a 20-year-old EMS truck.

The EMS vehicle responds to roughly two-thousand calls each year.

The money was secured in Albany by New York State Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo.

The trucks would cost $10,000 a month over the course of nine years. The council wants to see if there is a smarter way to spend money on fire department improvements.

"We're also gonna have to take care of raises for the firemens," said Councilman Lorenzo Martin. "And then we also have some situations with some of the fire stations and some of the other equipment they need to fight fires. I think the combination of all of that may be more balancing of securing the department to sustain itself."

Still, at face value, residents are frustrated with the back-and-forth.

"They had a meeting about it and then now all of a sudden they don't want the fire trucks," said Michael McGadney, who's lived in Prichard for 33 years. "You know what I'm saying? And we need them fire trucks."

The Fire Department will pay $22,500 for the firetruck. When it arrives from Sipesville, Penn., it will be the fourth vehicle in the Fire Department’s fleet, joining a 2003 E-1 fire/rescue truck, a 1992 GMC fire engine and a 1996 Chevrolet pickup truck that serves as the city’s rescue unit.

Fire Chief Cory Swartz, who addressed the City Council on Thursday while being backed up by eight other Cotter firefighters, described the 1993 fire/rescue truck as a “need.”

“There’s a lot of wants with my firefighters, but the wants they are looking at are over $500,000,” he said. “They’re big trucks, they are the ones you would see in New York. But this is a need.”