PHOTOS: Kennedy Visits with Foxborough Firefighters, Tours Station

Joseph Kennedy III said the best part about his campaign for Congress in the Fourth District has been getting out into the communities and meeting the people he hopes to represent in Washington.

On Thursday, Kennedy did just that when he visited with local firefighters for over half-an-hour and toured the Foxborough Fire Station.

The Fourth District candidate took the opportunity to learn more about the challenges the town’s first responders face and how he can help.

“It’s a community that is extremely tightly knit and also stretched because of the needs of and the pressure that is put on the first responders to try and meet those needs of having 70-plus thousand people come into your community, basically, 50 times a year,” Kennedy said.

Foxborough Fire Chief Roger Hatfield took Thursday’s meet and greet with Kennedy as an opportunity to voice some specific concerns regarding public safety in town.

“I think for [Kennedy] just being able to see what the situation we work with here in Foxborough is [a benefit],” Hatfield said. “People that don’t know Foxborough think we are a city. We are truly a bedroom community and if you really want to look at it our resident base is more senior than anything and it’s challenging.”

It’s challenging because, according to Hatfield, most communities in Massachusetts are dependent on federal and state assistance, primarily funding, which causes financial restrictions across the Commonwealth because there isn't enough money to go around.

“There is a lot of times where we are all tightening up the belt and trying to accomplish a lot with the little bit of funding that we have,” Hatfield said.

Kennedy acknowledged the department’s concerns.

“They let me understand they really need additional support so they are able to provide the level of care everyone has come to expect,” Kennedy.

So how can the Congressional candidate help the town’s firefighters and first responders if elected?

“As [the Foxborough firefighters] indicated, there’s a couple of federal grant programs that would be helpful for them and working with local officials as well, if I’m fortunate enough to get elected, to try to understand what it is they need and how federal assistance would be helpful – whether that’s through additional funding or its training or whatever it is,” Kennedy said.

Furthermore, the burden should not fall solely on Foxborough’s shoulders.

“There’s people from around the state that are enjoying Gillette Stadium,” Kennedy said. … “It shouldn’t just be Foxborough that has to bear the front line of defense.”

After visiting with firefighters in the station’s garage, Kennedy was taken on a tour of the rest of the firehouse and got a better understanding and appreciation for what Foxborough's first responders do on a daily basis.

"They're putting their lives on the line every day," Kennedy said. "This was a great opportunity for me to meet them and them to meet me and to understand the issues they are facing."

Following the tour, Kennedy was given a Foxborough Fire & Rescue t-shirt, which he proudly wore as he posed for pictures with firefighters.

Hatfield said Kennedy’s passion for what he does and what he believes in has the fire chief convinced the candidate will find success in Washington if elected.

“I think he will make an outstanding Congressman,” Hatfield said. “The biggest thing that I see now is that we need to continue to have good leadership and good support in Washington and I truly believe he can do that.”

Hatfield believes that type of support in Washington will help towns like Foxborough address its issues because the candidate has spent time getting to know his prospective communities.

“I’m happy he’s getting out there,” Hatfield said. “I think sometimes public safety feels like we are a little bit neglected and it’s a good to see that he cares and he’s passionate about the campaign and he’s passionate about the people that live in his state. I’m very proud that he came by.”

Kennedy, too, was happy to be in Foxborough Thursday, getting to know the first responders and learning more about the community he hopes to represent in Congress.

“It’s a fantastic community,” Kennedy said. “They are people willing to work hard, they’re not asking for anything special, they’re not asking for a handout, they’re just asking for the opportunity to do the most with what they got.”