BROOKSVILLE – A woman was injured Friday morning when she tried to rescue several animals from a burning barn.

The fire destroyed the barn and killed two horses, some sheep and rabbits, according to Fire Chief Bill Leck.

The fire was already burning through the small barn when the owners, Bruno and Judy Lebel, and neighbors noticed the blaze. Using the county’s new 911 emergency service, they notified officials about 6:30 a.m.

Becky Lebel, the daughter-in-law of the owners, ran to the barn and opened the doors in an effort to save the animals inside. She received burns on her face and hands, according to Leck.

“Judy knew enough to get her into the shower and under cold water,” Leck said. “That prevented it from being any worse than it was.”

A neighbor took the woman to Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, and she was treated and then released. She is expected to make a full recovery, Leck said.

The barn was in flames when firefighters arrived. It was obvious at that point that the animals could not have survived, Leck said, so firefighters concentrated their efforts on controlling the fire.

High winds fanned the flames and caused firefighters some concern initially, Leck said, but the flames were blowing away from nearby buildings and did not cause additional damage.

With the temperature hovering around minus 14 degrees Fahrenheit, the equipment kept freezing and firefighters were limited in how much they could do, Leck said. Fortunately, he said, they had plenty of backup from firefighters in Sedgwick, Penobscot and Blue Hill. About 30 firefighters from the four towns were at the fire scene, along with a crew from Peninsula Ambulance.

The Lebel farm is located off Coastal Road about a mile from the fire station, and firefighters were able to rotate equipment back and forth to the station to let it begin to thaw out, he said.

Their efforts had the fire knocked down within a half-hour, but the barn and its contents were destroyed.

“They lost everything in there,” the fire chief said.

The blaze killed two riding horses, one of which was pregnant, a sheep, two 3-day-old lambs and some rabbits. It also destroyed grain and hay supplies for other animals on the farm, as well as farm equipment that was housed there.

The barn was insured, Leck said, but the contents were not.

It appears that the blaze started near the sheep pen and likely was caused by an extension cord or a lamp that was left on to provide warmth for the lambs.

“That’s the area where most of the flames were coming from when they first noticed the fire,” Leck said.

Despite the loss, Leck was pleased with the fact that the new E-911 system worked well. Both Judy Lebel and a neighbor called the emergency number to report the fire, Leck said.

Hancock County instituted the countywide emergency call system this week, and Leck said his department had done a lot of publicity to make residents aware that the emergency number was available.