Brick Township leaders have voted to hire a law firm in order to file a suit against the manufacturers of OxyContin for bringing the opioid crisis into their town.

Brick Township Mayor John Ducey says that first responders covered more than 400 overdose calls in the town in the last four years. More than 60 people have died.

“We feel the company which is partially responsible should pay some if not all of the costs,” Ducey says.

Ducey says that the overdose calls are a burden on taxpayers due to the cost of the anti-overdose drug Narcan, as well as the money spent training first responders.

"What we hope to happen is we recoup our cost our taxpayers had to pay and we use that money for future help for some of the addicts,” Ducey says.

In a statement to News 12 New Jersey, Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin, says "We are deeply troubled by the opioid crisis and we are dedicated to being part of the solution.  We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense."

Brick Township police say that anti-drug and rehab programs would benefit from the money if they win their case.

Brick Township Police Capt. Tim Boyle says that although fatal and non-fatal overdose cases are down in 2017, overdose calls still  make up more than 10 percent of responses.

"It’s the cost of sending all the officers, paramedics to the calls and the time it takes. They could be doing something else for the township,” Boyle says.

Brick Township joins neighboring Toms River and other cities and states with pending lawsuits against Purdue Pharma.  

A spokesperson for Purdue also said in a statement, "We must balance patient access to FDA-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge."