A 53-YEAR-OLD man has died after a fire broke out at a flat in Ardrossan on Monday night – just yards from the local fire station.  Fire crews from Ardrossan arrived within minutes and were met with a well-developed fire in the second floor flat in Barr Street.  Tragically, the body of Gary Boyd was found inside the property.

A spokesperson from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “At 8.12pm this evening (Monday), the Scottish Fire and Rescue Services Fire Control in Johnstone received several 999 calls informing them of a flat fire within the Barr Street area of Ardrossan.

“As a result of the call, two fire appliances were mobilised to the scene from Ardrossan Community Fire Station.

“The first fire appliance arrived within minutes and the initial responding crews were faced with a well-developed fire within a three storey block of residential flats.   “The Incident Commander immediately committed firefighters, wearing breathing apparatus sets, into the building to rescue an occupant still located within and to fight the fire.  “Due to the size and nature of the blaze the Incident Commander requested the attendance of further resources; resulting in one additional appliance being mobilised to the scene from Kilwinning Community Fire Station.

“In addition to extinguishing the fire, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service personnel are currently working alongside colleagues from Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service to provide support and reassurance to nearby residents.” Police Scotland said: “Around 8.10pm on Monday, July 20, police were called to a report of a fire at a property in Barr Street, Ardrossan.

“Emergency services attended and the body of a 53-year-old man was discovered within the address.

“The man can now be named at Gary Boyd and relatives are aware.

“A joint investigation if currently underway between the police and the fire services to establish the exact cause of the fire.

“At this time it is not believed to be suspicious.

“A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”