FIRE crews were called out to a house fire in Irvine last Wednesday (November 18) which started in an electrical cupboard.

The crews from Dreghorn, Ardrossan and Kilwinning attended reports of a house fire in Earlswood View in the morning.

Incident Commander Craig Murphy immediately deployed a breathing apparatus team with dry powder extinguishers and a hose reel jet into the area where the fire originated in an electrical cupboard.

Station Manager Derek Davidson speaking about the incident said: “On arrival crews located a fire within the cupboard housing the electrical main supply for the house. Using dry powder extinguishers and a hose reel jet they extinguished the blaze within 20 minutes of arrival.

“The crews spent significant time cutting away areas which had been damaged to check for hidden fire spread. In addition they followed procedures we have in place for dealing with timber framed buildings and as such were detained for a number of hours.

Part of the internal staircase was removed to damage sustained during the fire. In addition the electricity supplier was contacted and requested to attend to ensure all electrical supplies were safe. The final appliance left the address at 16.50hrs due to the re-inspection process which was undertaken."