Early results of a Garda forensic examination of the site of a fire at the Woodfab Timber plant in south Wicklow have indicated the fire may have been started deliberately.
The site was cordoned off earlier today while a Garda Technical Bureau examination got under way, and by this afternoon the Garda Press Office confirmed the circumstances surrounding the fire - which broke out early yesterday morning - were suspicious.
Gardaí have now appealed for anyone who may have been in the area late on Saturday night or who may have seen anything suspicious to contact them.
Gardaí are also investigating a fire at a nearby former flour mill and examining the remains of a burnt out four wheel drive vehicle, to see if there may be any connection with the Woodfab fire. It was understood the vehicle and the former mill had been on fire at about the same time as the factory.
The blaze caused very serious damage to the plant’s main production line.
The plant, which employs 65 full time staff and a further 70 contract workers, is on the outskirts of Aughrim, a scenic village west of Arklow, which is a national winner in the Tidy Towns competition.
Most of the staff at Woodfab are on annual holidays, and the production units were closed for annual maintenance when the fire broke out.
However, phone lines at the plant were in operation today with clerical staff in place. Management said it is hoped to have the sales offices reopened for businesses this week.
Managing director John Brady said they would not know how many workers would have to be laid off on a temporary basis until they carried out an assessment of the damage.
"But we will rebuild," he declared. "I have worked in this business for 40 years, invested too much time and effort into the business, just to walk away."
Woodfab Timber produces fencing and decking products for Irish and British markets. It is a major supplier of roadside post and rail fencing and has developed acoustic timber fencing for use as sound barriers, particularly on roadsides.
While the company has said the building was insured, concern locally centered on damage to export markets that may be caused by any delay in rebuilding.
Local estimates put the value of the damage in millions of euro. The main production sawmills, the hub of the plant, was gutted in the fire, which was spotted by a local taxi driver at about 1.30am yesterday.
Firemen from nearby towns of Rathdrum, Tinahely, Carnew and Arklow battled the fire for several hours as flames from the fire shot up into the sky. The blaze took more than 10 hours to extinguish, but firemen succeeded in preventing the flames spreading to other plant and offices in the factory compound.