Over 150 officers responded within minutes of the violence which caused up to £200,000 worth of damage.
In the worst of the attacks on passing vehicles, bricks were hurled at the ambulance and the driver of a hijacked bus was beaten.
"The actions were moronic," John McPoland from the Ambulance Service told UTV.
"And the main concern for us is what actually could have happened. Had this missile come through the window, hit the driver, there could have been a tragic accident."
Bus services were suspended for a time in the area, as a union representative hit out at those responsible for the attack on a bus driver.
"It was a sinister, callous and brutal attack, carried out on a person carrying out his work. These people boarded the bus and poured petrol inside. They then trailed him off the bus and beat him," Unite's Michael Dornan told UTV.
"The driver has sustained a facial injury during the attack and we have to warn the general public that we will not allow our members safety to be compromised during civil unrest."
The rioting erupted when a large crowd gathered at O'Neill Road at about 8.30pm. Police and eyewitness estimates have placed the numbers involved somewhere between 200 and 400.
It has been suggested the disturbances were a response to earlier police searches in Rathcoole.
A 34-year-old man had been arrested and a quantity of suspected cannabis seized during a PSNI-led investigation into UVF murders in north Belfast.
But Chief Superintendent Henry Irvine denied that the actions of officers during those searches were partly responsible for the trouble that broke out.
"I would reject absolutely any suggestion that police officers acted in any other way than professionally," he told UTV.
"There are always tensions when searches are carried out, but police officers will always operate within the law."
Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland added that, while no arrests were made during the rioting, it is expected that CCTV footage will be able to identify those involved.
"The Rathcoole estate and the adjoining area is like a rabbit warren - it's full of small streets and alleyways which these young people scattered down," Mr McCausland said.
"The rioters dispersed very rapidly the minute the police moved in. If we could have made arrests we would have made arrests."
Police also received reports of "sinister elements" - including a man armed with a gun - at the scene.
PUP spokesperson, Ken Wilkinson, has said the UVF - which his party has links to - had no involvement in the trouble.
"I don't believe it was orchestrated by loyalist paramilitaries," Mr Wilkinson said.
"What I saw here last night was a lot of young people running rampage. The police failed to come in and take control of the situation."
Mr Wilkinson believes a police search at the home of a disabled woman led to a rise in tensions which simmered over.
"I am not condoning what happened here", he told UTV. "I am condemning what took place.
"A little bit of sympathy could have been shown to the lady within the house. A little bit of civility goes a long way and that was not shown yesterday to the lady of that house."
Community worker Phil Hamilton, who was at the scene, said there had been recent tension in the area between police and local people.
"I understand the PSNI have a job to do, but it's common sense at times that's needed," he said.
"This frustration has been boiling and boiling. Local communities have met the PSNI so that when the police come in to do searches there is dialogue. People are not asking for prior warning, all they're asking for is information on what's going on in their area."