BERWICK, Maine — Berwick Fire & Rescue Chief Dennis Plante and Town Manager Stephen G. Eldridge announce funeral, memorial service and burial arrangements for Berwick Fire Captain Joel Barnes.

Services and burial will take place on Sunday, March 10. There will be two services: A private family mass and a public memorial ceremony.

The family will attend a Catholic funeral mass, which will be said at a local church early in the morning. That service is only for family and is closed to the news media. The family has asked that their privacy be respected.

Memorial Service

The details of the public fire service memorial are as follows:

WHEN: 

Sunday, March 10, 2018

11 a.m.

WHERE:

Cross Insurance Arena

1 Civic Center Square

Portland, ME 04101

Venue fee was partially waived by management, and the balance has been paid for by Teamsters Local 340, of which Berwick firefighters are members.

MEDIA LOGISTICS

Several thousand people are expected in attendance.

Media logistics, including parking, credentialing, and assigned location(s) in the Arena will be announced, likely tomorrow.

BURIAL

A procession of approximately two miles will follow to Cavalry Cemetery, where Captain Barnes will be buried with full fire department honors. The burial service is private for family members and the Berwick Fire Department.

ATTN. OUT OF TOWN FIREFIGHTERS

Logistics, including hotel accommodations, staging, and mustering of out of town firefighters is expected to be announced on Wednesday.

OUT OF TOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT ATTENDANCE FORM

Fire departments planning to attend the funeral are kindly asked to fill out an online form to better five organizers an idea of attendance numbers.

PIPES AND DRUMS/COLOR GUARDS

Any pipe and drum bands or color guards wishing to participate in the services should click here to fill out an online form.

Pipe bands with questions can also contact Dave McLean of the Professional Firefighters of New Hampshire Pipes and Drums:  (603-661-1940 or [email protected])

MUTUAL AID CONTINUES

Mutual aid station coverage for Berwick has been provided by ambulance companies and fire departments from across Maine and New Hampshire, and that assistance will continue through at least Sunday.

VIGIL CONTINUES

Firefighters have maintained their 24-hour constant vigil over the body of Captain Barnes, and that will continue uninterrupted until Sunday.

FUND ESTABLISHED

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.

ADDITIONAL UPDATES

This is the latest of several updates that will be distributed as new information becomes available.

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Captain Barnes, age 32, was a paramedic and served as the Berwick Fire & Rescue training officer and emergency medical services coordinator. He previously worked for the Horry County, South Carolina Fire Rescue Department, 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, March 1. The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation. Captain Barnes was leading another firefighter in an interior attack of the fire when conditions suddenly worsened.

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BERWICK, Maine — The Town of Berwick and the firefighting community in New England and beyond are collectively in mourning today after the line of duty death of Berwick Fire & Rescue Captain Joel Barnes, who died fighting a four-alarm fire that injured four other firefighters on Friday afternoon.

Captain Barnes, age 32, was a paramedic and served as the Berwick Fire & 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. An initial finding indicates that Captain 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.

Added Berwick Town Manager Stephen G. Eldridge: “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.”

Saturday Procession

Captain 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. 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.

Fund Established

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.

Additional Updates

This is the first of several updates that will be distributed as new information becomes available. Funeral arrangements are still being finalized.

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EAST KINGSTON, N.H. — Fire Chief Ed Warren wishes to inform parents of a new feature on the Snapchat social networking tool that allows users, including children, to share their exact location with others on the mobile phone app.

The Snap Map feature is automatically included in the latest update of Snapchat, and it allows users to view the locations of their “friends” while they are active on the app. The feature also includes the ability for users to share their photos and videos publicly, even if their profiles are otherwise private.

“The safety and security of children is paramount, and this new Snapchat feature is highly concerning,” Chief Warren said. “I encourage parents to educate themselves and consider disabling this feature on their children’s phones.”

The Snap Map’s tracking capability can be disabled by activating “Ghost Mode.”

Here is how to enable “Ghost Mode” and disable pinpoint GPS tracking:

• Pinch the screen on the main camera portion of the app
• Once the map is activated, click on the icon in the upper righthand corner of the screen
• Press the slider next to the “Ghost Mode” label at the top of the menu

If left active, the Snap Map will pinpoint and display a user’s location whenever they are actively using the app, and will also display a person’s most recent known location.

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The East Kingston Fire Department congratulates firefighter Jason Warren who recently completed the Firefighter 1 program at the New Hampshire State Fire Academy.

Firefighter Warren has served the department for two years. He also recently graduated Great Bay College with a degree in business management!