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Berwick Firefighter Remembered As A 'True Hero'

Thousands from around the nation gathered at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland Sunday to honor Captain Joel Barnes, the Berwick firefighter who died March 1 while fighting an apartment building fire in downtown Berwick.

Credit John Guilfoil Public Relations LLC
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John Guilfoil Public Relations LLC
According to those who worked with him, Barnes (right) will be remembered as the type of person who was made to be a firefighter.

The cause of the blaze is still under investigation. According to reports from family members and other firefighters, Barnes and his partner became trapped in the apartment, and Barnes used his body to shield the other man. When other firefighters were able to reach the pair, Barnes was unresponsive, and taken to the hospital in Dover, New Hampshire where he was pronounced dead. He was 32 years-old.

“When all the investigations are complete, and the reports are published, they’ll all include at least one common thing: that is the final actions of Berwick Fire Captain Joel Barnes were truly heroic,” said President of the Maine Fire Chiefs Association and Chief of the Saco Fire Department, John Duross.

According to those who worked with him, Barnes will be remembered as the type of person who was made to be a firefighter.

Credit Caitlin Troutman / Maine Public
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Maine Public
Thousands from around the nation gathered at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland Sunday to honor Captain Joel Barnes.

“Dedication, passion, heart, desire, confidence, work ethic — regardless of what you call it, it is essential that firefighters are hardworking, hard-training people who take pride in their work,” said Kennebunk Fire Chief Jeffrey Rowe. “Captain Barnes was an excellent example of how we all strive to conduct ourselves.”

Rowe recounted how, on one snowy day, after finishing some work as a paramedic, Barnes stayed late to shovel snow outside the firehouse.

“For the younger firefighters here today, think about Captain Barnes and hope you can be like him in your career of service,” Rowe said.

Barnes’ uncle, also named Joel Barnes, recalled that his nephew always wanted to become a public servant.

Credit Caitlin Troutman / Maine Public
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Maine Public
Thousands from around the nation gathered at the Cross Insurance Arena In Portland Sunday to honor Captain Joel Barnes

“When Joel was only about two and-a-half or three, there was an elderly lady who lived next door, and she gave him one of those little plastic fire hats everyone got at school, and every time he heard a siren, he would grab that hat and stick it on his head and run down to the end of the driveway to see a firetruck or ambulance drive by,” his uncle told the crowd.

Barnes’ career took him to Massachusetts and South Carolina before he came back to work in Maine. He joined the Berwick Fire Department in 2016 and was made captain the following year. He was a paramedic and served as the Berwick Fire and Rescue training officer, as well as a per diem firefighter in Acton, Maine.

Sunday morning, thousands of firefighters lined up on Spring Street to march in a processional to honor Barnes. Organizers estimated that representatives from more than 225 fire departments and at least 11 states were in attendance.

Barnes was honored posthumously with a Medal of Valor from the Teamsters Local Union No. 340, and he is remembered as a hero by his fellow servicemen.

“As you reflect on the life as Captain Joel Barnes, remember him as a firefighter, a medic and a true hero,” said Fire Chief Rowe. “And when the bell rings, respond as Captain Joel Barnes would have.”

The Barnes family requests that donations made in his name go to the Berwick Volunteer Firefighters Association.

Originally published March 10, 2019 at 3:52 p.m. ET.

Caitlin Troutman is the Digital News and Content Producer for Maine Public. Caitlin worked as a writer and editor for various publications before discovering her love for public media at KCUR in Kansas City. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Critical Theory from the Oxbridge Honors Program at William Jewell College and the University of Oxford. She joined Maine Public in 2018.