The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official on-duty death of Captain Joel Barnes, 32, of the Berwick Fire Department on March 1, 2019.
Captain Joel Barnes was one of five firefighters who went into a three-story apartment building to fight a four-alarm fire. While inside the structure, conditions rapidly worsened. Three of the firefighters were able to escape. Barnes and one other firefighter became trapped in a room of a third-floor apartment. While waiting to be rescued, Barnes reportedly used his body to shield the other firefighter from the intense fire. Upon rescue, Barnes was unresponsive, and EMTs and other colleagues immediately performed life-saving measures on him. Barnes was then transported to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital where he was pronounced deceased from the injuries he sustained. The four other firefighters were treated and released by Wentworth-Douglass Hospital.
Tribute is being paid to Captain Barnes at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/
To date, six firefighter fatalities has been reported to USFA in 2019. Year-to-date and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ff_fatality_reports.html
Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.
