Chester, Neb. ? About 1,600 pigs were killed when a fire broke out at a hog confinement business.

Chester Pig was destroyed in Thursday’s blaze, which caused an estimated $600,000 in damages to buildings and in losses of pigs, said Everett Roop, Chester volunteer firefighter.

It took about five hours to control the fire, which erupted Thursday afternoon in the town about 74 miles southwest of Lincoln, on the border with Kansas. Firefighters from Hebron, Hubbell, Belleville, Kan. and Munden, Kan., were called in for help, Roop said.

Roop said there was too much smoke for firefighters to save any pigs when the fire erupted. The fire spread quickly to various buildings, which were connected by breezeways, Roop said.

About 650 of the pigs killed had just been delivered to the complex that day, Roop said.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office determined the fire was accidental, said Ray Nance, a spokesman for the office.