'Catastrophic' farm fire kills 2000 pigs

A farmhand has risked his own life to free thousands of pigs caught in a blaze that destroyed a piggery shed in southwest NSW.

More than 2000 pigs were killed in the early morning fire at Wonga Piggery near Young on Wednesday.

The alarm was raised by a male worker who managed to save 1500 pigs by - against the heat - prying open a door of the shed.

The blaze, believed to have started from an electrical fault, took rural fire brigades more than an hour to bring under control.

The farmhand's heroism has been praised but the farm's staff and owners remain shattered by the loss of life.

"It's a catastrophic event for them," said Australian Pork representative Emily Mackintosh, who spoke on behalf of the business.

"On this site they had 6000 pigs and the fire affected a third of those."

Counselling has been offered for the two dozen staff, she said.

"Just like any catastrophic event, people are traumatised.

"Finding these animals the way they did ... they care for these animals 24/7," she said.

Overall damages are expected to exceed a million dollars after the fire wiped out feed lines and affected other operations.

The other shed on the farm that housed another 3000 pigs was untouched by the fire.

In April, about 250 pigs were killed in a shed fire in the NSW Southern Highlands.