Residents in Belmullet, Co Mayo, paid tribute to emergency services which evacuated up to 700 of the town's 1,000 people from their homes the previous evening after fire destroyed the entire work plant of Cow Comforts Ltd.
Supt Tony McNamara, of Belmullet Garda station, said while there were no casualties, they were happy that all precautionary measures taken had been effective.
As groups of residents gathered yesterday to view the rubble surrounding the ruined stockpile of 30,000 mats for cows on the site, a clear blue sky and blazing sun contrasted sharply with the black umbrella of smoke that covered the town the previous evening.
One local man explained that the danger in the situation was registered only after the wind suddenly changed direction, blowing the thick black layers of smoke directly on to Belmullet.
A local woman said: "We all just pulled together. People opened their homes to friends, relatives and anyone in need of a bed for the night. Erris is a very close-knit community and we always look out for each other."
Another resident, who did not have to evacuate his house while the fire raged throughout the night, said people were grateful for the intervention of the emergency services in a situation which really was very serious at the time. "We couldn't take any chances," he said.
A supermarket owner, Mr Eddie Cuff, who closed his business early in the day to supply emergency provisions at selected shelters in the town, said the air was totally black at one point. "The smoke was very thick and people were wearing masks on the streets to protect themselves. It was treacherous enough," he said.
A firefighter, Mr Padraig Conroy, confirmed that a massive explosion occurred during the fire. "It was like going into a chamber from hell. The place was totally engulfed in flames which spread like a volcano of fire. We finally got it under control at around 8 p.m., but we were still frantically fighting up to 4 a.m. on Friday morning," he said.
The proprietor of Cow Comfort Ltd, Mr Tom Duffy, who had employed 30 people in the company since 1981, stood outside his former premises yesterday. Watching firefighters work to extinguish the last burning sections of his £1 million stock of mats, he said he still had a lot to be thankful for in that nobody had been injured in any way.
"I was actually doing a computer course in Castlebar when I got a phone call about the fire. I thought at first it was an April fool's joke, but sadly it was the truth", he said.
Local people rallied around to support Mr Duffy yesterday and urged the EU Commissioner, Mr Padraig Flynn, and his daughter, Ms Beverly Cooper Flynn TD, who arrived on the scene, to act quickly in association with Udaras na Gaeltachta to find new premises for the company. Mr Duffy said: "Work is not the factor at play here. Work was never as good. What's missing now is a factory."