Firehouse Cooking: A look inside Foxboro Fire Department

November 23, 2015 6:29 pm

By Alana Cerrone

acerrone@abc6.com

@Alana_Cerrone

When firefighters aren’t out on calls, they’re in that firehouse doing chores, and then of course they have to eat. And boy do they eat. We took a look inside the Foxboro Fire Department to see what dinner time is really like.

The meatballs are sizzling and the bread is being sliced.

It’s not Sunday at Grandma’s, or a cooking class…it’s dinner time at the Foxboro Fire Department.

Group 1 is halfway into its 24-hour shift…and it’s time for dinner.

Of course, firefighters don’t go home. Instead they make a home cooked meal …here.

"It really brings everybody together. We literally are family we get to eat as a family as well,” says firefighter PJ Belham.

For these guys, cooking is a part of the firehouse culture.

Firefighter Paul Farmer says, "It builds camaraderie. It really makes doing what you have to do out on the street a lot more sincere…a lot more meaning…to make sure you’re protecting the people you work with."

How much do the firefighters value this space? While their department was being renovated, they each donated $10 a week for two years to pay for upgraded kitchen appliances and amenities.

"So when you sit down to eat- it really goes towards helping us do what we have to do out there."

Families that work together also celebrate together.

28-year-old PJ Belham celebrated his birthday with his firefighting brothers.

He started with Group 1 just a few months ago, and boy did he feel pressure to perform…not only on the street but also in the kitchen.

"There’s a lot of pressure walking through the door – you’re wondering if they’re gonna like what you make, if they’re gonna eat it if they’re gonna hate it, if they’re gonna tell you never to cook again. You wanna bring something to the table that they may not have had before."

All of the food and fun instantly becomes secondary when duty calls.

They told me the bonds they build at the firehouse pay dividends on the job, when teamwork matters most in life and death situations.

"The fact that we can sit down with each other and still laugh with each other…we know that when we go out the door we have each other’s backs."

Having a big sit-down dinner is a luxury to them – it doesn’t happen every night. In fact, they said they’re used to eating super quickly and even eating a cold meal on nights where they’re out on back-to-back calls. But, when they do have the time, they take advantage of it.