Three Towns men heroes of Saltcoats blaze

As we went to press last week, the fire service revealed three people had to be treated by paramedics at the scene of the blaze in Caledonia Road, and a woman was taken to hospital for treatment for minor smoke inhalation.

It has now came to light that Stephen Cowan of Ardrossan and Saltcoats man Willie Wylie were the heroes as they rescued a man from the blaze early on Wednesday morning.

Stephen explained: “I finished my nightshift and went to the Cali Stores for rolls for breakfast and noticed a house was on fire and a woman was shouting for help, so I ran into the shop and told Willie to phone the fire brigade.” The incident occurred just after 6am and the fire service reached the scene within seven minutes.

But before that, Stephen and Willie came to the rescue.

Stephen revealed: “Me and Willie ran to the house but it was too smokey and black that we couldn’t see a thing.

"He ran back to get a torch then we both went in and lifted the man out to safety and the woman managed to get out herself.

"I then phoned my girlfriend Stacey to explain what had happened.” Stacey said: “He phoned me in shock and he was coughing.

"He told me what had happened but I didn’t believe him.” Willie explained his side of the story from the popular shop in Caledonia Road.

He said: “If Stephen hadn’t come into the shop when he did you never know what might have happened but I’m glad I was there to help.

“When we ran up the stairs we were told that the man was in the back room and couldn’t get out.

"The smoke was thick and black and it was dark.

"Two members of the family came down to thank us very much for helping but I said it wasn’t just me, it was Stephen as well.” The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the pair had managed to ge the victim, who has not been named, out the house.

The fire service remained at the propertye for most of the morning and were still there when children from local primary school, Caledonia, started to arrive for lessons.