06/10/2026
“Meet the Member Spotlight”
Episode 1: Michael Barry
Michael Barry has been a member of the South New Berlin Fire Department and Rescue Squad for an impressive 59 years! At the age of 18, he joined because he was drawn to the fire trucks and flames. He has continued to be an active member because of what he calls, “a high paying job.” That “pay” comes in the form of the rewarding feeling you get by helping others and serving your community. Mike has many stories to tell, from tragedy and loss to pride in lives saved.
Mike joined the department as an interior firefighter in the days when there weren’t different levels of firefighters and air packs were optional. Back then houses weren’t built with today’s materials that can be toxic when burning. Throughout the 1980’s, Mike took every available state training, as can be seen by the many bars on his jacket. This included EMT and CPR training so that he could provide life support, which was in response to having young children and wanting to be able to help them in an emergency. From there, Mike went on to get his advanced life support training. Through the years, Mike has worked with the local school (South New Berlin and then Unadilla Valley) teaching during fire safety week as well as working with the Board of Education on policies and procedures such as evacuation of the building and getting a fire hydrant installed outside of the school pool so that water could be drawn from the pool to fight a fire if necessary.
When Mike is not serving his community, he enjoys hunting or just being in the woods, riding his side-by-side, and he just gave up his motorcycle after riding since 1972. A very talented guy, Mike is a private pilot, a certified scuba diver, does plumbing and electrical work, and holds a BS degree in Engineering Production and Testing.
In recognition of his dedicated service, Mike was awarded the SNBFD 2026 EMT of the Year award and most recently received the SREMS Chenango County BLS Provider of the Year! We would like to thank Michael Barry for his many years of service to our community!