Agnes Kelly is standing in her doorway watching the clean-up teams on Tycor Avenue in Waterford city. Around her are several large flower pots that have been emptied.“They removed it yesterday,” she says, referring to the men in protective gear and industrial face masks. The material in question is the remains of the old jute factory across the road, which could include asbestos, a hazardous material if inhaled as dust.She takes The Irish Times through the house to the back garden that is yet to be cleaned up. It is a breezy day.“There’s bits of it around everywhere,” she says. “You can see it, can you? And the wind is rising it.”The small pieces were deposited on Saturday night as the factory erupted into flames.The building – much of which was destroyed – was constructed in 1937 and is full of the potentially deadly insulation material.“Oh, it just went so quickly,” says Kelly, who has lived on the street for almost 60 years. “It was just unbelievable. It was roaring up into the sky.”The fire took hold in the old jute factory in Tycor. Photograph: Waterford City and County Council Workers clean potential asbestos residue around houses opposite the Tycor Business Centre. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Kelly has received two public information notices through her door.One from Waterford City and County Council and the HSE warns residents not to touch, move or remove “any debris, ash or soot deposits”. It says not to dry sweep dust or debris and if necessary “dampen down surface dust particles with a light dousing of water”. They are warned not to mow their lawns, advised to rewash any clothes that may have been left outdoors during the fire and to wash hands thoroughly after any outdoor activities. Another notice repeats the advice while adding that “no elevated asbestos fibre concentrations in the air” have been detected.“You’d rather not have it around. I’d rather not have this,” she says. “It’s kind of scary.”Agnes Kelly: ‘[The fire] was just unbelievable. It was roaring up into the sky.’ Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Her daughter lives a 10-minute walk away. Is she happy to stay at home? “I’m not really. I’m kind of worried every time I go out,” she says.Businesses, community groups and charities are now without premises – and have lost hundreds of thousands of euro worth of property and stock. Jobs are under threat.Some of the owners, including Andrew Hepburn, rushed to the scene on Saturday evening after the fire was inadvertently broadcast on the GAA+ streaming service.A very short distance away in Walsh Park, Waterford’s hurlers were playing Cork in the Munster senior championship. The flames could clearly be seen rising into the sky from the stadium.“I was at home watching the match – and of course the camera swung across seeing the smoke,” says Hepburn.Tycor Business Centre was home to many small and medium-sized enterprises. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill He owns DG Foods, which had two units in the sprawling old site, and checked his CCTV feed to see fire engines parked up nearby. At that stage the fire had not spread to his premises, but when he lost his CCTV signal he decided to head to Tycor for a closer look.“I went in with the firemen and with their co-operation we took some pictures. They had a thermal camera checking the walls for heat. There was no smoke at that stage and that was around seven o’clock,” he says.Hepburn says he returned a second time, again with permission, to retrieve part of the CCTV system.“I would say within 15 minutes of us coming out the second time the unit was gone,” he says. “It seemed that they thought they had it contained – but the wind changed and, you know, that’s not derogatory comments to the firemen – the firemen went above and beyond.”Speaking in his office a short drive away, where his company also has a coffee shop, Hepburn says: “We built a business there from zero – from me working on my own with a small van to building up a €6 million-a-year turnover company employing 12 and 13 people.Fire investigators have found asbestos in the ruins of the building. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill “We have sat down now with the hard truths and figures and predictions for the next month and if we don’t get some sort of forward payment from insurance or assistance from the Government, unfortunately these people’s jobs are in jeopardy at the moment.”Joined in his office by Paul Brennan, a consultant who is helping him plan a way out of the current crisis, they recount an “emotional” meeting between businessowners and two Government Ministers the day before.Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke and local TD John Cummins listened to their calls for financial assistance, but offered no guarantees.“Paul put it like this,” says Hepburn. “The question you should be asking these people is: ‘What’s your Iban? We’re going to whack 20 grand in your bank in the morning and we’ll deal with it when you fill out these forms.’“If somebody’s got too much we can take a bit back; if somebody didn’t get enough, we can give them more”.Urgency is the key, they say. They cite the speed of the Government’s response to the Covid pandemic to protect jobs and businesses. They argue a similar approach is needed in Waterford.[ ‘A lifetime’s work down the drain’: Businessman’s premises destroyed by Tycor fireOpens in new window ]Hepburn fears that even if many businesses and organisations survive, they will struggle to find an affordable replacement premises.As Hepburn and his son watched their units disappear before their eyes near the southeastern corner of the factory site, Jean and Ellenor Upton were doing the same on the other side of Tycor Avenue.The sisters run the Waterford Centre of Music; their two units were destroyed. Until Friday, the centre employed five and had about 200 students.The old jute factory closed in December 1974. It opened as a business park in 1999. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Jean Upton says businesses are struggling to find new commercial units. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill “We were here and it was all blowing that way, towards Walsh Park,” says Jean, of the surreal scene they found on Saturday. “The explosions were terrifying. There was just pops, like constant booms,” says Ellenor, coming against the crowd cheers of “waaaay” at the nearby hurling game.“It’s all just gone,” says Jean. “And Ellenor’s husband works there. And my partner works there. So our houses are in trouble now.”They have been to their local social welfare office.The sisters list off the equipment that has been lost: “Five upright pianos. Six drum kits. About 20 to 30 guitars,” says Jean. “How many violins?” she asks Ellenor.“I’d say at least 12 violins. Then all the younger kids, all their percussion instruments. That’s just instruments. There were random microphones, ukuleles, banjos, basses. All recording equipment. All of our sets. There were thousands worth of each. Costumes, everything.”Jean says there are 50 businesses now “dispersed” looking for commercial units in a market with few available properties “and certainly not cheap ones”.“The prices are going up overnight.”[ ‘The loss is immeasurable’: Costume business among those destroyed by Waterford fireOpens in new window ]Ellenor refers to one commercial property she has seen on a website this week that increased in price from €1,400 a month to €2,500 in the space of 24 hours.“We’re in no man’s land now at the moment,” says Jean. “Until we try and gather ourselves.”While they are at a low ebb, the sisters say there have been several very generous offers of help over the past few days.“People are being so kind, reaching out,” says Ellenor. “There’s a music shop up in Drogheda and he said that I can give you 35 per cent off all the books – and let me know when you’re getting instruments, I’ll look after you.”An Garda Síochána are reportedly scouring CCTV footage as part of their investigation into how the blaze started. As of now there is no suggestion of foul play.That is of little solace though to the many people affected.“What we need to do as a community is all of us involved up there need to stick together,” says Andrew Hepburn. “We need to fight as one. We need assistance and we need it now. Some people need it a lot more than others but everybody needs a quick dig-out.”