Approximately 50,000 ducks died in a fire Friday at a duck farm near Racine, Que., about an hour and a half from Montreal.

One of the two buildings at the Brome Lake Ducks facility was destroyed in the fire, which began around 7 p.m., Radio-Canada reported.

The company's CEO, Claude Trottier, estimated the fire caused $3 million in damage.

"This is a major site for us, it's also a research site. It's a big loss for us," Trottier told Radio-Canada.

The Pekin duck is the most widely bred commercial duck, according to the U.K. Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International. (Lydia Yasuda/Associated Press) Valcourt firefighters responded to the fire, but required backup from Richmond, Saint-Denis-de-Brompton and Saint-Christine.

"Fortunately, the wind was in the right direction and the flames were spreading to the snowy field and not to the second building," said Valcourt fire Chief Eric Arsenault.

The firefighters do not know the cause of the blaze and are not investigating it as a crime.

Brome Lake Ducks, which has been in business since 1912, specializes in breeding Pekin duck — the most widely bred commercial duck according to the U.K. Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International.

The company uses the ducks for both their meat and eggs.