Bedford Fire Provides Support After Maine Firefighter's Death

BEDFORD – Bedford Fire Engine 3 was there so members of the Berwick Fire Department could be where they needed to be the day Capt. Joel Barnes was memorialized.

Bedford was one of dozens of cities, towns and university departments to send personnel to cover shifts in the Maine town following the death of Barnes, who died fighting an apartment fire on March 1. While the majority of the units came from Maine and coastal New Hampshire and Massachusetts, Bedford FD felt a special cause to lend a hand after the support it received following the line-of-duty death of Lt. James Clark in 2013.

“We’re always happy to help in this type of situation,” Bedford Capt. Thatcher Plante said. “But, especially because of all the help we received, we know how important it is to receive that and how much it is appreciated.”

Bedford FD sent Engine 3 and four off-duty members of the department to cover a Berwick shift during the memorial services. Plante said the Kittery, Maine Fire Department organized the coverage so that Berwick firefighters could both grieve and adhere to the protocol that comes with a line-of-duty death.

“There were 10 days of coverage overall from the immediate mourning, to the preparation, all the way through the funeral,” Plante said. “It is quite an ordeal. Not only are you mourning the loss, but there is the watch, how to salute properly, the parade, the logistics of the funeral.

“It was cool to see the teamwork between the departments to help them with that process.”

Firefighters and police officers lined the streets of Concord on March 2 as the body of Barnes, 32, was taken from the medical examiner's office in the state capital back to Maine.

Plante said he believes Bedford FD was the farthest department away from Berwick to provide coverage. He added that the outpouring of compassion from the Berwick community brought back memories of how Bedford residents supported the department in the wake of Lt. Clark’s death in 2013.

“It’s always amazing to see that,” Plante said. “The entire time we were there people were coming to the door dropping off food and sympathy cards. The restaurants were all dropping off menus and telling us to let them know anything they need is on the house.

“That was our experience in Bedford too. The community rallies around you with an open heart in times like that.”

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