BERWICK, Maine — Berwick Fire & Rescue Chief Dennis Plante and Town Manager Stephen G. Eldridge announce funeral, memorial service and burial arrangements for Berwick Fire Captain Joel Barnes.
Services and burial were on Sunday, March 10. There will be two services: A private family mass and a public memorial ceremony.
The family attended a Mass of Christian Burial, at a local church in the morning.
A Memorial Service was held on Sunday, March 10, 2018 in the Cross Insurance Arena, Portland, ME 04101 A procession of approximately two miles will follow to Cavalry Cemetery, where Captain Barnes will be buried with full fire department honors. The burial service was private for family members and the Berwick Fire Department.
The family of Captain Barnes requests that any donations being made in his name go to the Berwick Volunteer Firefighters Association in his memory c/o Kennebunk Saving Bank, 2 School St., Berwick, ME 03901.
Captain Barnes, age 32, was a paramedic and served as the Berwick Fire & Rescue training officer and emergency medical services coordinator. He previously worked for the Horry County, South Carolina Fire Rescue Department, South Berwick Rescue, York Ambulance and the Old Orchard Beach Fire Department before joining Berwick Fire in July 2016. He was also an active per diem firefighter for Town of Acton, Maine.
Captain Barnes died in a large apartment fire on Bell Street Friday, March 1. The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation. Captain Barnes was leading another firefighter in an interior attack of the fire when conditions suddenly worsened.
FIREFIGHTER DIED SAVING A COLLEAGUE FROM AN INFERNO
Fallen ME Firefighter Died Saving a Colleague from an Inferno
Berwick Capt. Joel Barnes shielded another firefighter with his body as flames circled the trapped firefighters.
MARCH 2, 2019 FIREHOUSE.COM
The Berwick, ME, firefighter fatally injured in an apartment fire died a hero on Friday after he jumped on a fellow firefighter shielding him from the inferno as the blaze closed around them.
According to the Portland Press Herald, Capt Joel Barnes of Shapleigh, ME, 32,and another firefighter were trapped on the third floor in a four-alarm fire. His final act in the career he pursued since childhood was to save a colleague, the newspaper reported.
The captain's father, Michael Barnes told the paper that the firefighter his son saved hugged him and told him his son saved his life covering him as the flames closed in. The trapped firefighters were told to hang where they and await for rescue from some of the other firefighters from 17 communities battling the apartment building fire.
A total of five firefighters were hurt battling the fire, four were treated and released from a nearby New Hampshire hospital. Despite intense efforts to save Barnes, he succumbed to his injuries.
Rochester, NH, Assistant Fire Chief Tim Wilder told the television station WCSH News Center Maine that Barnes and the other firefighter, who has not been identified, were trapped and a mayday was declared only minutes after the first crews arrived on the scene.
Steve McCausland, Maine's Public Safety spokesman, told the Associated Press that the two firefighters encountered a wall of flames when they made the third floor and had to be rescued.
Reports indicate that rescue crews were trying to revive Barnes immediately after he was retrieved from the fire, but the efforts were not successful. The captain was declared dead at Wentworth Douglass Hospital in Dover, NH. A procession of emergency vehicles and police cruisers left the hospital Friday afternoon as Barnes' body was taken to Concord, NH, for an autopsy which was expected to be completed Saturday.
The fallen captain's family told the Portland Press Herald that Barnes was "laser-focused" on his career from age 10 when he began studying the fire science and emergency medicine. His father said his son never wavered from achieving his goal of being a firefighter and paramedic.
After graduating from Old Orchard Beach, ME, High School in 2005, Barnes attended Southern Maine Community College's fire science course and later going on to Horry County, SC, Fire Department for more training, the newspaper reported. He later served as a firefighter and paramedic in Myrtle Beach.
Upon returning to Maine, Barnes became one of Berwick's five career personnel with its fire and rescue department.
Barnes returned to Maine a couple of years ago to be closer to his family, including his niece and nephew with whom he had developed a close relationship, Barnes' sister, Kara Allaire, 35, of Dover, NH, told the newspaper.
Barnes is survived by his mother and father and his sister and a niece and nephew.
Living in South Carolina was an adventure for Barnes, said his sister, Kara Allaire, 35, of Dover, New Hampshire. But he returned to Maine a couple of years ago so he could be closer to his parents and so he could have a relationship with Allaire's children.
Her brother had bought a house in Shapleigh with community lake access, and he was a proud homeowner who enjoyed making the place his own, Allaire said.
Now she is devastated that her two children will grow up without their uncle, who seemed to let his guard down the most when he was playing with his niece and nephew.
Allaire said Barnes had a knack for making up silly, creative games to play with his nephew, and the two bonded over watching Scooby Doo cartoons. When the family visited Barnes at the fire station, he would put his nephew in the fire trucks, she said.
She said she will miss his dark, sarcastic wit, and she laughed remembering how her brother always seemed to have a Cumberland Farms coffee glued to his hand.
Allaire said her brother's death still felt surreal.
Firefighters pay respects to Berwick's Capt. Barnes
By Karen Dandurant [email protected]
Posted Mar 2, 2019 at 6:15 PM
Updated Mar 3, 2019 at 7:43 AM
Firefighters salute fallen Berwick firefighter Capt. Joel Barnes as they escort him to Tasker Funeral Home in Dover Saturday afternoon. Barnes lost his life battling a blaze at an apartment building at 10 Bell Street Friday. [Ioanna Raptis/Seacoastonline]▲
Berwick firetrucks and area departments escort fallen firefighter Berwick Capt. Joel Barnes in a procession to Tasker Funeral Home in Dover Saturday. [Ioanna Raptis/Seacoastonline]▲
BERWICK, Maine — The townspeople and the firefighting community in this close knit town are mourning the loss of a hero as they lay to rest Berwick Fire and Rescue Capt. Joel Barnes, who lost his life in the line of duty, battling a four-alarm apartment fire Friday afternoon.
Four other firefighters were injured in the fire at 10 Bell St. The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation. Maine Fire Marshal Joe Thomas said they planned to be on site of the fire for most of Sunday and Monday doing fire modeling, using a computer generated program to help determine the cause.
Firefighters continued to honor Barnes on Saturday. Police and firefighters traveled to Concord, New Hampshire, where an autopsy had been conducted Saturday morning. They escorted his body back to Dover, to the Tasker Funeral Home on Central Avenue, where his fellow firefighters began a 24-hour vigil. The vigil will continue without interruption until the funeral.
As the procession traveled from Concord to Dover, fire and police departments along the route gathered to salute as they watched it pass. Many local police and fire departments, including Dover, Berwick and South Berwick, Maine accompanied the hearse to the doors of Tasker, where he was lovingly carried inside as his brothers saluted him for his selfless act of bravery.
An initial finding indicates that Barnes was leading another firefighter in an interior attack of the fire when conditions suddenly worsened. Fire department chaplain Joe Chambers said all indications were that he saved the other firefighters through his brave actions.
Fire Chief Dennis Plante said Barnes saved the life of another firefighter, making the ultimate sacrifice for his brothers. He said firefighters across New England are feeling the loss of one of their own.
"Captain Barnes died a hero, battling a large and dangerous building fire. He made the ultimate sacrifice for his community," said Plante.
Barnes, 32, was a paramedic and served as the Berwick Fire & Rescue training officer and emergency medical services coordinator. He previously worked for the Horry County (South Carolina) Fire Rescue Department, South Berwick Rescue, York Ambulance and the Old Orchard Beach Fire Department before joining Berwick Fire in July 2016. He was also an active per diem firefighter in Acton, Maine.
The family of Barnes requests that any donations being made in his name go to the Berwick Volunteer Firefighters Association in his memory c/o Kennebunk Saving Bank, 2 School St., Berwick, ME 03901.
Services and burial were on Sunday, March 10. There will be two services: A private family mass and a public memorial ceremony.
The family attended a Mass of Christian Burial, at a local church in the morning.
A Memorial Service was held on Sunday, March 10, 2018 in the Cross Insurance Arena, Portland, ME 04101 A procession of approximately two miles will follow to Cavalry Cemetery, where Captain Barnes will be buried with full fire department honors. The burial service was private for family members and the Berwick Fire Department.
The family of Captain Barnes requests that any donations being made in his name go to the Berwick Volunteer Firefighters Association in his memory c/o Kennebunk Saving Bank, 2 School St., Berwick, ME 03901.
Captain Barnes, age 32, was a paramedic and served as the Berwick Fire & Rescue training officer and emergency medical services coordinator. He previously worked for the Horry County, South Carolina Fire Rescue Department, South Berwick Rescue, York Ambulance and the Old Orchard Beach Fire Department before joining Berwick Fire in July 2016. He was also an active per diem firefighter for Town of Acton, Maine.
Captain Barnes died in a large apartment fire on Bell Street Friday, March 1. The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation. Captain Barnes was leading another firefighter in an interior attack of the fire when conditions suddenly worsened.
FIREFIGHTER DIED SAVING A COLLEAGUE FROM AN INFERNO
Fallen ME Firefighter Died Saving a Colleague from an Inferno
Berwick Capt. Joel Barnes shielded another firefighter with his body as flames circled the trapped firefighters.
MARCH 2, 2019 FIREHOUSE.COM
The Berwick, ME, firefighter fatally injured in an apartment fire died a hero on Friday after he jumped on a fellow firefighter shielding him from the inferno as the blaze closed around them.
According to the Portland Press Herald, Capt Joel Barnes of Shapleigh, ME, 32,and another firefighter were trapped on the third floor in a four-alarm fire. His final act in the career he pursued since childhood was to save a colleague, the newspaper reported.
The captain's father, Michael Barnes told the paper that the firefighter his son saved hugged him and told him his son saved his life covering him as the flames closed in. The trapped firefighters were told to hang where they and await for rescue from some of the other firefighters from 17 communities battling the apartment building fire.
A total of five firefighters were hurt battling the fire, four were treated and released from a nearby New Hampshire hospital. Despite intense efforts to save Barnes, he succumbed to his injuries.
Rochester, NH, Assistant Fire Chief Tim Wilder told the television station WCSH News Center Maine that Barnes and the other firefighter, who has not been identified, were trapped and a mayday was declared only minutes after the first crews arrived on the scene.
Steve McCausland, Maine's Public Safety spokesman, told the Associated Press that the two firefighters encountered a wall of flames when they made the third floor and had to be rescued.
Reports indicate that rescue crews were trying to revive Barnes immediately after he was retrieved from the fire, but the efforts were not successful. The captain was declared dead at Wentworth Douglass Hospital in Dover, NH. A procession of emergency vehicles and police cruisers left the hospital Friday afternoon as Barnes' body was taken to Concord, NH, for an autopsy which was expected to be completed Saturday.
The fallen captain's family told the Portland Press Herald that Barnes was "laser-focused" on his career from age 10 when he began studying the fire science and emergency medicine. His father said his son never wavered from achieving his goal of being a firefighter and paramedic.
After graduating from Old Orchard Beach, ME, High School in 2005, Barnes attended Southern Maine Community College's fire science course and later going on to Horry County, SC, Fire Department for more training, the newspaper reported. He later served as a firefighter and paramedic in Myrtle Beach.
Upon returning to Maine, Barnes became one of Berwick's five career personnel with its fire and rescue department.
Barnes returned to Maine a couple of years ago to be closer to his family, including his niece and nephew with whom he had developed a close relationship, Barnes' sister, Kara Allaire, 35, of Dover, NH, told the newspaper.
Barnes is survived by his mother and father and his sister and a niece and nephew.
Living in South Carolina was an adventure for Barnes, said his sister, Kara Allaire, 35, of Dover, New Hampshire. But he returned to Maine a couple of years ago so he could be closer to his parents and so he could have a relationship with Allaire's children.
Her brother had bought a house in Shapleigh with community lake access, and he was a proud homeowner who enjoyed making the place his own, Allaire said.
Now she is devastated that her two children will grow up without their uncle, who seemed to let his guard down the most when he was playing with his niece and nephew.
Allaire said Barnes had a knack for making up silly, creative games to play with his nephew, and the two bonded over watching Scooby Doo cartoons. When the family visited Barnes at the fire station, he would put his nephew in the fire trucks, she said.
She said she will miss his dark, sarcastic wit, and she laughed remembering how her brother always seemed to have a Cumberland Farms coffee glued to his hand.
Allaire said her brother's death still felt surreal.
Firefighters pay respects to Berwick's Capt. Barnes
By Karen Dandurant [email protected]
Posted Mar 2, 2019 at 6:15 PM
Updated Mar 3, 2019 at 7:43 AM
Firefighters salute fallen Berwick firefighter Capt. Joel Barnes as they escort him to Tasker Funeral Home in Dover Saturday afternoon. Barnes lost his life battling a blaze at an apartment building at 10 Bell Street Friday. [Ioanna Raptis/Seacoastonline]▲
Berwick firetrucks and area departments escort fallen firefighter Berwick Capt. Joel Barnes in a procession to Tasker Funeral Home in Dover Saturday. [Ioanna Raptis/Seacoastonline]▲
BERWICK, Maine — The townspeople and the firefighting community in this close knit town are mourning the loss of a hero as they lay to rest Berwick Fire and Rescue Capt. Joel Barnes, who lost his life in the line of duty, battling a four-alarm apartment fire Friday afternoon.
Four other firefighters were injured in the fire at 10 Bell St. The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation. Maine Fire Marshal Joe Thomas said they planned to be on site of the fire for most of Sunday and Monday doing fire modeling, using a computer generated program to help determine the cause.
Firefighters continued to honor Barnes on Saturday. Police and firefighters traveled to Concord, New Hampshire, where an autopsy had been conducted Saturday morning. They escorted his body back to Dover, to the Tasker Funeral Home on Central Avenue, where his fellow firefighters began a 24-hour vigil. The vigil will continue without interruption until the funeral.
As the procession traveled from Concord to Dover, fire and police departments along the route gathered to salute as they watched it pass. Many local police and fire departments, including Dover, Berwick and South Berwick, Maine accompanied the hearse to the doors of Tasker, where he was lovingly carried inside as his brothers saluted him for his selfless act of bravery.
An initial finding indicates that Barnes was leading another firefighter in an interior attack of the fire when conditions suddenly worsened. Fire department chaplain Joe Chambers said all indications were that he saved the other firefighters through his brave actions.
Fire Chief Dennis Plante said Barnes saved the life of another firefighter, making the ultimate sacrifice for his brothers. He said firefighters across New England are feeling the loss of one of their own.
"Captain Barnes died a hero, battling a large and dangerous building fire. He made the ultimate sacrifice for his community," said Plante.
Barnes, 32, was a paramedic and served as the Berwick Fire & Rescue training officer and emergency medical services coordinator. He previously worked for the Horry County (South Carolina) Fire Rescue Department, South Berwick Rescue, York Ambulance and the Old Orchard Beach Fire Department before joining Berwick Fire in July 2016. He was also an active per diem firefighter in Acton, Maine.
The family of Barnes requests that any donations being made in his name go to the Berwick Volunteer Firefighters Association in his memory c/o Kennebunk Saving Bank, 2 School St., Berwick, ME 03901.
BERWICK, Maine — Berwick Fire & Rescue Chief Dennis Plante and Town Manager Stephen G. Eldridge announce funeral, memorial service and burial arrangements for Berwick Fire Captain Joel Barnes.
Services and burial were on Sunday, March 10. There will be two services: A private family mass and a public memorial ceremony.
The family attended a Mass of Christian Burial, at a local church in the morning.
A Memorial Service was held on Sunday, March 10, 2018 in the Cross Insurance Arena, Portland, ME 04101 A procession of approximately two miles will follow to Cavalry Cemetery, where Captain Barnes will be buried with full fire department honors. The burial service was private for family members and the Berwick Fire Department.
The family of Captain Barnes requests that any donations being made in his name go to the Berwick Volunteer Firefighters Association in his memory c/o Kennebunk Saving Bank, 2 School St., Berwick, ME 03901.
Captain Barnes, age 32, was a paramedic and served as the Berwick Fire & Rescue training officer and emergency medical services coordinator. He previously worked for the Horry County, South Carolina Fire Rescue Department, South Berwick Rescue, York Ambulance and the Old Orchard Beach Fire Department before joining Berwick Fire in July 2016. He was also an active per diem firefighter for Town of Acton, Maine.
Captain Barnes died in a large apartment fire on Bell Street Friday, March 1. The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation. Captain Barnes was leading another firefighter in an interior attack of the fire when conditions suddenly worsened.
FIREFIGHTER DIED SAVING A COLLEAGUE FROM AN INFERNO
Fallen ME Firefighter Died Saving a Colleague from an Inferno
Berwick Capt. Joel Barnes shielded another firefighter with his body as flames circled the trapped firefighters.
MARCH 2, 2019 FIREHOUSE.COM
The Berwick, ME, firefighter fatally injured in an apartment fire died a hero on Friday after he jumped on a fellow firefighter shielding him from the inferno as the blaze closed around them.
According to the Portland Press Herald, Capt Joel Barnes of Shapleigh, ME, 32,and another firefighter were trapped on the third floor in a four-alarm fire. His final act in the career he pursued since childhood was to save a colleague, the newspaper reported.
The captain's father, Michael Barnes told the paper that the firefighter his son saved hugged him and told him his son saved his life covering him as the flames closed in. The trapped firefighters were told to hang where they and await for rescue from some of the other firefighters from 17 communities battling the apartment building fire.
A total of five firefighters were hurt battling the fire, four were treated and released from a nearby New Hampshire hospital. Despite intense efforts to save Barnes, he succumbed to his injuries.
Rochester, NH, Assistant Fire Chief Tim Wilder told the television station WCSH News Center Maine that Barnes and the other firefighter, who has not been identified, were trapped and a mayday was declared only minutes after the first crews arrived on the scene.
Steve McCausland, Maine's Public Safety spokesman, told the Associated Press that the two firefighters encountered a wall of flames when they made the third floor and had to be rescued.
Reports indicate that rescue crews were trying to revive Barnes immediately after he was retrieved from the fire, but the efforts were not successful. The captain was declared dead at Wentworth Douglass Hospital in Dover, NH. A procession of emergency vehicles and police cruisers left the hospital Friday afternoon as Barnes' body was taken to Concord, NH, for an autopsy which was expected to be completed Saturday.
The fallen captain's family told the Portland Press Herald that Barnes was "laser-focused" on his career from age 10 when he began studying the fire science and emergency medicine. His father said his son never wavered from achieving his goal of being a firefighter and paramedic.
After graduating from Old Orchard Beach, ME, High School in 2005, Barnes attended Southern Maine Community College's fire science course and later going on to Horry County, SC, Fire Department for more training, the newspaper reported. He later served as a firefighter and paramedic in Myrtle Beach.
Upon returning to Maine, Barnes became one of Berwick's five career personnel with its fire and rescue department.
Barnes returned to Maine a couple of years ago to be closer to his family, including his niece and nephew with whom he had developed a close relationship, Barnes' sister, Kara Allaire, 35, of Dover, NH, told the newspaper.
Barnes is survived by his mother and father and his sister and a niece and nephew.
Living in South Carolina was an adventure for Barnes, said his sister, Kara Allaire, 35, of Dover, New Hampshire. But he returned to Maine a couple of years ago so he could be closer to his parents and so he could have a relationship with Allaire's children.
Her brother had bought a house in Shapleigh with community lake access, and he was a proud homeowner who enjoyed making the place his own, Allaire said.
Now she is devastated that her two children will grow up without their uncle, who seemed to let his guard down the most when he was playing with his niece and nephew.
Allaire said Barnes had a knack for making up silly, creative games to play with his nephew, and the two bonded over watching Scooby Doo cartoons. When the family visited Barnes at the fire station, he would put his nephew in the fire trucks, she said.
She said she will miss his dark, sarcastic wit, and she laughed remembering how her brother always seemed to have a Cumberland Farms coffee glued to his hand.
Allaire said her brother's death still felt surreal.
Firefighters pay respects to Berwick's Capt. Barnes
By Karen Dandurant [email protected]
Posted Mar 2, 2019 at 6:15 PM
Updated Mar 3, 2019 at 7:43 AM
Firefighters salute fallen Berwick firefighter Capt. Joel Barnes as they escort him to Tasker Funeral Home in Dover Saturday afternoon. Barnes lost his life battling a blaze at an apartment building at 10 Bell Street Friday. [Ioanna Raptis/Seacoastonline]▲
Berwick firetrucks and area departments escort fallen firefighter Berwick Capt. Joel Barnes in a procession to Tasker Funeral Home in Dover Saturday. [Ioanna Raptis/Seacoastonline]▲
BERWICK, Maine — The townspeople and the firefighting community in this close knit town are mourning the loss of a hero as they lay to rest Berwick Fire and Rescue Capt. Joel Barnes, who lost his life in the line of duty, battling a four-alarm apartment fire Friday afternoon.
Four other firefighters were injured in the fire at 10 Bell St. The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation. Maine Fire Marshal Joe Thomas said they planned to be on site of the fire for most of Sunday and Monday doing fire modeling, using a computer generated program to help determine the cause.
Firefighters continued to honor Barnes on Saturday. Police and firefighters traveled to Concord, New Hampshire, where an autopsy had been conducted Saturday morning. They escorted his body back to Dover, to the Tasker Funeral Home on Central Avenue, where his fellow firefighters began a 24-hour vigil. The vigil will continue without interruption until the funeral.
As the procession traveled from Concord to Dover, fire and police departments along the route gathered to salute as they watched it pass. Many local police and fire departments, including Dover, Berwick and South Berwick, Maine accompanied the hearse to the doors of Tasker, where he was lovingly carried inside as his brothers saluted him for his selfless act of bravery.
An initial finding indicates that Barnes was leading another firefighter in an interior attack of the fire when conditions suddenly worsened. Fire department chaplain Joe Chambers said all indications were that he saved the other firefighters through his brave actions.
Fire Chief Dennis Plante said Barnes saved the life of another firefighter, making the ultimate sacrifice for his brothers. He said firefighters across New England are feeling the loss of one of their own.
"Captain Barnes died a hero, battling a large and dangerous building fire. He made the ultimate sacrifice for his community," said Plante.
Barnes, 32, was a paramedic and served as the Berwick Fire & Rescue training officer and emergency medical services coordinator. He previously worked for the Horry County (South Carolina) Fire Rescue Department, South Berwick Rescue, York Ambulance and the Old Orchard Beach Fire Department before joining Berwick Fire in July 2016. He was also an active per diem firefighter in Acton, Maine.
The family of Barnes requests that any donations being made in his name go to the Berwick Volunteer Firefighters Association in his memory c/o Kennebunk Saving Bank, 2 School St., Berwick, ME 03901.
Services and burial were on Sunday, March 10. There will be two services: A private family mass and a public memorial ceremony.
The family attended a Mass of Christian Burial, at a local church in the morning.
A Memorial Service was held on Sunday, March 10, 2018 in the Cross Insurance Arena, Portland, ME 04101 A procession of approximately two miles will follow to Cavalry Cemetery, where Captain Barnes will be buried with full fire department honors. The burial service was private for family members and the Berwick Fire Department.
The family of Captain Barnes requests that any donations being made in his name go to the Berwick Volunteer Firefighters Association in his memory c/o Kennebunk Saving Bank, 2 School St., Berwick, ME 03901.
Captain Barnes, age 32, was a paramedic and served as the Berwick Fire & Rescue training officer and emergency medical services coordinator. He previously worked for the Horry County, South Carolina Fire Rescue Department, South Berwick Rescue, York Ambulance and the Old Orchard Beach Fire Department before joining Berwick Fire in July 2016. He was also an active per diem firefighter for Town of Acton, Maine.
Captain Barnes died in a large apartment fire on Bell Street Friday, March 1. The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation. Captain Barnes was leading another firefighter in an interior attack of the fire when conditions suddenly worsened.
FIREFIGHTER DIED SAVING A COLLEAGUE FROM AN INFERNO
Fallen ME Firefighter Died Saving a Colleague from an Inferno
Berwick Capt. Joel Barnes shielded another firefighter with his body as flames circled the trapped firefighters.
MARCH 2, 2019 FIREHOUSE.COM
The Berwick, ME, firefighter fatally injured in an apartment fire died a hero on Friday after he jumped on a fellow firefighter shielding him from the inferno as the blaze closed around them.
According to the Portland Press Herald, Capt Joel Barnes of Shapleigh, ME, 32,and another firefighter were trapped on the third floor in a four-alarm fire. His final act in the career he pursued since childhood was to save a colleague, the newspaper reported.
The captain's father, Michael Barnes told the paper that the firefighter his son saved hugged him and told him his son saved his life covering him as the flames closed in. The trapped firefighters were told to hang where they and await for rescue from some of the other firefighters from 17 communities battling the apartment building fire.
A total of five firefighters were hurt battling the fire, four were treated and released from a nearby New Hampshire hospital. Despite intense efforts to save Barnes, he succumbed to his injuries.
Rochester, NH, Assistant Fire Chief Tim Wilder told the television station WCSH News Center Maine that Barnes and the other firefighter, who has not been identified, were trapped and a mayday was declared only minutes after the first crews arrived on the scene.
Steve McCausland, Maine's Public Safety spokesman, told the Associated Press that the two firefighters encountered a wall of flames when they made the third floor and had to be rescued.
Reports indicate that rescue crews were trying to revive Barnes immediately after he was retrieved from the fire, but the efforts were not successful. The captain was declared dead at Wentworth Douglass Hospital in Dover, NH. A procession of emergency vehicles and police cruisers left the hospital Friday afternoon as Barnes' body was taken to Concord, NH, for an autopsy which was expected to be completed Saturday.
The fallen captain's family told the Portland Press Herald that Barnes was "laser-focused" on his career from age 10 when he began studying the fire science and emergency medicine. His father said his son never wavered from achieving his goal of being a firefighter and paramedic.
After graduating from Old Orchard Beach, ME, High School in 2005, Barnes attended Southern Maine Community College's fire science course and later going on to Horry County, SC, Fire Department for more training, the newspaper reported. He later served as a firefighter and paramedic in Myrtle Beach.
Upon returning to Maine, Barnes became one of Berwick's five career personnel with its fire and rescue department.
Barnes returned to Maine a couple of years ago to be closer to his family, including his niece and nephew with whom he had developed a close relationship, Barnes' sister, Kara Allaire, 35, of Dover, NH, told the newspaper.
Barnes is survived by his mother and father and his sister and a niece and nephew.
Living in South Carolina was an adventure for Barnes, said his sister, Kara Allaire, 35, of Dover, New Hampshire. But he returned to Maine a couple of years ago so he could be closer to his parents and so he could have a relationship with Allaire's children.
Her brother had bought a house in Shapleigh with community lake access, and he was a proud homeowner who enjoyed making the place his own, Allaire said.
Now she is devastated that her two children will grow up without their uncle, who seemed to let his guard down the most when he was playing with his niece and nephew.
Allaire said Barnes had a knack for making up silly, creative games to play with his nephew, and the two bonded over watching Scooby Doo cartoons. When the family visited Barnes at the fire station, he would put his nephew in the fire trucks, she said.
She said she will miss his dark, sarcastic wit, and she laughed remembering how her brother always seemed to have a Cumberland Farms coffee glued to his hand.
Allaire said her brother's death still felt surreal.
Firefighters pay respects to Berwick's Capt. Barnes
By Karen Dandurant [email protected]
Posted Mar 2, 2019 at 6:15 PM
Updated Mar 3, 2019 at 7:43 AM
Firefighters salute fallen Berwick firefighter Capt. Joel Barnes as they escort him to Tasker Funeral Home in Dover Saturday afternoon. Barnes lost his life battling a blaze at an apartment building at 10 Bell Street Friday. [Ioanna Raptis/Seacoastonline]▲
Berwick firetrucks and area departments escort fallen firefighter Berwick Capt. Joel Barnes in a procession to Tasker Funeral Home in Dover Saturday. [Ioanna Raptis/Seacoastonline]▲
BERWICK, Maine — The townspeople and the firefighting community in this close knit town are mourning the loss of a hero as they lay to rest Berwick Fire and Rescue Capt. Joel Barnes, who lost his life in the line of duty, battling a four-alarm apartment fire Friday afternoon.
Four other firefighters were injured in the fire at 10 Bell St. The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation. Maine Fire Marshal Joe Thomas said they planned to be on site of the fire for most of Sunday and Monday doing fire modeling, using a computer generated program to help determine the cause.
Firefighters continued to honor Barnes on Saturday. Police and firefighters traveled to Concord, New Hampshire, where an autopsy had been conducted Saturday morning. They escorted his body back to Dover, to the Tasker Funeral Home on Central Avenue, where his fellow firefighters began a 24-hour vigil. The vigil will continue without interruption until the funeral.
As the procession traveled from Concord to Dover, fire and police departments along the route gathered to salute as they watched it pass. Many local police and fire departments, including Dover, Berwick and South Berwick, Maine accompanied the hearse to the doors of Tasker, where he was lovingly carried inside as his brothers saluted him for his selfless act of bravery.
An initial finding indicates that Barnes was leading another firefighter in an interior attack of the fire when conditions suddenly worsened. Fire department chaplain Joe Chambers said all indications were that he saved the other firefighters through his brave actions.
Fire Chief Dennis Plante said Barnes saved the life of another firefighter, making the ultimate sacrifice for his brothers. He said firefighters across New England are feeling the loss of one of their own.
"Captain Barnes died a hero, battling a large and dangerous building fire. He made the ultimate sacrifice for his community," said Plante.
Barnes, 32, was a paramedic and served as the Berwick Fire & Rescue training officer and emergency medical services coordinator. He previously worked for the Horry County (South Carolina) Fire Rescue Department, South Berwick Rescue, York Ambulance and the Old Orchard Beach Fire Department before joining Berwick Fire in July 2016. He was also an active per diem firefighter in Acton, Maine.
The family of Barnes requests that any donations being made in his name go to the Berwick Volunteer Firefighters Association in his memory c/o Kennebunk Saving Bank, 2 School St., Berwick, ME 03901.
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