BERWICK- The Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office, assisted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with Detectives from the Berwick Police Dept. are releasing updated information on the origin and cause of the apartment house fire in Berwick on March 1 that killed Berwick Fire Captain Joel Barnes. 

According to a media release from the Maine State Police, fire investigators have analyzed the information available through fire scene forensic examinations and interviews. The origin for the fire was the third floor exterior rear porch. The cause is “most probably disposal of smoking materials into an unapproved receptacle.”

Captain Barnes and Firefighter Mitchell Manfredi entered the building by the front door and moved to a third-floor room adjacent to the rear porch. Once in the room, exit to the porch was impossible due to the volume of fire and by that time, conditions rapidly deteriorated making escape back through their original entry point impossible. Captain Barnes was located in that third-floor room unconscious, according to the release.

Dr. Christine James of the New Hampshire Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be “Probable Hyperthermia and/or Hypoxia.” The manner of death is accidental.

The release stated that the The Maine Department of Labor is conducting an independent investigation involving equipment and labor safety standards.

The ATF Fire Research Laboratory continues to work with the data provided to come up with a computer model of the fire.

Related: 

Maine flags lowered in honor of Berwick Firefighter Captain Joel Barnes

Midcoast firefighters join send-off for Berwick Captain Joel Barnes

More firefighter photos from Capt. Joel Barnes’ ceremony