The town of Berwick, Maine is mourning the loss of 32-year-old fire captain who died while battling a raging, four-alarm fire that injured four other firefighters Friday afternoon.
Berwick Fire & Rescue Capt. Joel Barnes died while fighting a large apartment fire on Bell Street on Friday. Berwick Fire Chief Dennis Plante said a preliminary investigation shows Barnes died while leading another firefighter in an interior attack.
“Captain Barnes died a hero, battling a large and dangerous building fire,” Plante said in a statement. “He made the ultimate sacrifice for his community.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
In a statement, Berwick Town Manager Stephen G. Eldridge said, “Firefighters run toward danger and into places that everyone else is running away from. Captain Barnes lost his life saving others, while we honor him, we are struck with a profound sense of grief today. On behalf of the enter Berwick community, I wish to thank everyone for their offers of support and expressions of condolence.”
Barnes’ body was taken to the medical examiners office in Concord, New Hampshire. It departed the medical examiner’s office at 1:30 p.m. Saturday bound for the Tasker Funeral Home in Dover. His body was escorted by Berwick Police and Fire, with firefighters and police officers from other agencies stationed in salute over major overpasses along Route 4.
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.
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