Procession For Fallen Firefighter Heads Through Concord, Dover

CONCORD, NH — If you were wondering why the large firefighter presence Saturday afternoon, it was to honor the life of a firefighter from Maine who died fighting a four-alarm fire Friday in Berwick.

Firefighters and police officers lined the streets as the body of Berwick Fire and Rescue Captain Joel Barnes, 32, was taken to the medical examiner's office in Concord.

The procession left the medical examiner's office at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, bound for the Tasker Funeral Home in Dover. The captain's body was escorted by Berwick Police and Fire, with firefighters and police officers from other agencies stationed in salute over major overpasses along Rt. 4. The procession was joined by the Dover Fire Department as it reached the city limits.

Barnes was a paramedic and served as the Berwick Fire and Rescue training officer and emergency medical services coordinator. He previously worked for 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. The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation. The preliminary investigation indicates Barnes was leading another firefighter in an interior attack of the fire when conditions suddenly worsened.

"Captain Barnes died a hero, battling a large and dangerous building fire. He made the ultimate sacrifice for his community," said Berwick Fire Chief Dennis Plante in a release.

"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," said Berwick Town Manager Stephen G. Eldridge in a release.