Eversource employee John Cox didn’t make it to his assignment in Dedham.

While en route from the company’s office in Walpole, Cox says he noticed a “glow” coming from a spacious field.

“I just didn’t look right,” Cox said, adding that he then spotted a barn. “When I took a closer look, I could see fire going across the whole roof at that point. Through the windows, I could see two silhouettes of a horse.”

Cox is sharing his experience of being the first person on the scene of a two-alarm fire at Mor Linn Farm, a boarding and training stable that has served Walpole and surrounding towns over the years.

Cox, nearing four years with Eversource, promptly laid on his truck’s horn before jumping on his phone to call 911 to report what he was seeing. He was just 12 minutes into his shift last Tuesday night when he came across the scene.

“There’s a barn fire, it’s fully engulfed,” Cox recounted of his phone call, while speaking with the Herald on Thursday. “I don’t see anyone out here. I don’t know if anyone knows it’s happening.”

He then decided to jump out of his truck, screaming. By the time he reached the front door of a home on the property, the homeowner was coming out.

Cox and the homeowner ran into the two-story barn, with the homeowner’s son following behind.

“The horses were kind of going bananas,” Cox said. “They were jumping around and making a ton of noise. They were scared.”

“Every time I opened the stall door, the horse wouldn’t come out,” he added. “They were just keeping backing up, screaming and jumping around.”

Eight horses died in the blaze, while Cox and the homeowners saved 10 others that have relocated to other stables in the area. The barn has been declared a total loss. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

“I’ll be honest with you, it was not for a lack of effort,” Cox said of not being able to save all the horses. He explained that the homeowner ran up to the second floor of the barn and saved one of the horses in an area Cox said he did not feel comfortable moving to.

“At that point,” he said, “I was screaming for (the homeowner) to get out. It was just getting too hot. … I was almost on my knees. I couldn’t see the horses because it was just so smoky.”

Cox is a lineworker and troubleshooter for Eversource, a job that requires him to wear clothing he said is fireproof. Before leaving Walpole for the previously scheduled Dedham assignment, he said he put on all of his gear, given the rain and thunderstorms slamming the area, providing him a sense of safety.

“You hear these animals calling for help,” Cox said. “I’m not a big animal person. I’m actually allergic to nearly every animal … but when you hear that noise, and when anyone is helpless, you just try to help out.”

“It was just a natural instinct to run in there and help them,” he added, “and honestly, help the homeowners. I could see the panic in his face; his anxiety was through the roof, as well.”

The Walpole Fire Department received mutual aid from Norwood, Westwood, Norfolk, Medfield, Foxboro, Sharon, Canton, Dover, Mansfield, Wrentham and Stoughton to battle and eventually extinguish the blaze.

“The Kennedy family is devastated by last night’s fire at our beloved Mor Linn Farm,” the owners said in a statement on Wednesday. “Our hearts are broken by the loss of eight horses. We are grateful for the incredible response of the fire department and first responders from Walpole and surrounding towns who worked so hard to help contain the flames. We thank the community for their outpouring of support.”

The community has rallied together in the fire’s aftermath. A GoFundMe, organized to support the family, has collected more than 900 donations, accumulating over $124,000.

“They are an incredible family,” organizer June Gillis-Ahern states on the fundraising page, “and the love they have for their horses is immeasurable. … This family is facing many challenges in the short and long term.”