SCOTTISH Fire and Rescue Service crews in North Ayrshire extinguished a deliberate fire at a derelict factory in Dalry on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 15.

Appliances from Dalry and Kilbirnie community fire stations were sent to the incident at Drakemyre shortly after 1pm, with firefighters reaching the scene less than five minutes after they were mobilised.   The crews arrived to find a well-developed fire within the building and the incident commander sent firefighters into the premises to tackle the flames.

A third appliance was dispatched from Kilwinning Community Fire Station to increase the resources at the scene and firefighters wearing breathing apparatus put out the fire using a main jet.

Station Manager Gregor McPherson, the incident commander, said: “Anyone who deliberately sets a fire is committing a serious crime that endangers themselves, innocent members of the public and emergency responders.

“This incident involved a quantity of textiles that produced a large amount of smoke, which spread far beyond the actual seat of fire and caused severe smoke logging throughout the building.

“Dealing with it took almost two hours and required three appliances and their crews from three different stations in North Ayrshire.

“These are vital resources for our communities and the simple fact is that having to attend deliberate fires means they could be delayed getting to a real emergency.

“It’s absolutely essential that firefighters can quickly get to house fires, road traffic collisions or other incidents where lives are at risk, so we need everyone to help ensure they are not tied-up by the reckless behaviour of a minority.

“Flames, heat and toxic smoke all spread incredibly quickly and people who set fires can’t know how they will develop.

“What begins as a small fire in a derelict building or on waste-ground can easily grow to engulf homes or businesses, putting at risk anyone who happens to be in its path.

“By releasing thousands of tonnes of carbon monoxide these fires also impact local air quality and that endangers people with asthma and other breathing conditions.

“We work very closely with our communities to raise awareness of the risks and we’re very grateful to the members of the public who report build-ups of rubbish that could be used to start fires.

“By helping identify these hazards before they become potentially serious incidents our residents play an important role in protecting the area.

“Those involved in deliberately setting fires needs to understand their actions could have tragic consequences and ask themselves if they could live with being responsible for someone suffering horrific injuries or even losing their life.” Anyone with information on those responsible for deliberately setting fires should call police on the non-emergency number 101. Information can be given anonymously through Crimestoppers Scotland by calling 0800 555 111.

Members of the public can also help prevent deliberate fires by reporting any build-up of rubbish in their area to the local authority or via the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency’s ‘Dumb Dumpers’ line – 0845 230 4090.