Death of firefighter who perished battling apartment house fire mourned

Scene of Friday's deadly fire that destroyed a Berwick apartment house (You Tube capture) and fallen firefighter Capt. Joel Barnes of BFD. (Courtesy photo)

BERWICK, Maine - A family, community and entire region is today mourning the death of a Berwick Fire Captain who perished fighting an apartment house fire in Berwick on Friday.

Four other firefighters were injured in the blaze, which saw the hulking apartment building's roof collapse at the height of the inferno.

The death of a Berwick hero was tough to swallow for the region's entire firefighting community.

"We regret to announce the (death) of Capt. Joel Barnes of the Berwick Fire Department who passed away (from) injuries he sustained while fighting a fire today. May he rest in eternal peace," the fire department posted in a first responder news alert.

Barnes, 32, of Shapleigh, along with four other injured firefighters, was taken to Wentworth Douglass Hospital in Dover, N.H., where he was pronounced dead, Maine State Fire Marshal Joe Thomas said.

"Obviously, you can see this was a difficult situation for all of the fire departments who responded to this event," Thomas said. "I tip my hat to every single one of them for the work they put in to saving their own, trying to make as much progress as possible, saving any lives of the public who live there. And fortunately, for the civilians who were involved, everybody is all right."

The exact cause of Barnes' death will be determined by an autopsy set for today.

As soon as firefighters arrived at the blaze, several rescues were being attempted throughout the building, according to Northeast Fire Alerts, a website that monitors New Hampshire and Maine public safety events. Soon after the first alert went out around 11:30 a.m. a "Mayday" distress call was posted regarding two firefighters who had become trapped inside the smoldering structure.

The other four injured firefighters were treated and released from Wentworth Douglass Hospital in Dover.

Safety officials confirmed that 17 departments from both Maine and New Hampshire responded to the blaze inside the sprawling six-unit, three-story structure.

The fire at 10 Bell St. was first reported shortly after 11 a.m. A fourth alarm was sounded not long after initial crews arrived on scene.

A resident told WMTW TV of Portland that the fire started on a third-floor porch and she tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher.

Fire investigators today are expected to continue their probe into an official cause.