Huge fire rips through Ayr's crumbling Station Hotel sparking huge emergency response

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A huge blaze has tore through the Station Hotel this evening with smoke being seen for miles.Flames have engulfed the crumbling Ayr building which is earmarked for demolition by council chiefs.Huge thick plumes of black smoke can be seen billowing out from the former Hotel which is currently entombed in white covering.The inferno has sparked a huge emergency response with 13 fire appliances currently on the scene with as crews try and tackle the blaze.A spokesperson for Scottish Fire and Rescue has also told how they've received 67 calls since the fire was first reported around 5.27pm this evening.Shocking pictures show how the blaze has singed the top of the white protective covering - exposing the roof.

The fire has plunged Ayrshire's railway into chaos with trains to and from Ayr all cancelled, with services starting an terminating at Kilwinning.It is the second fire to hit the historic site - which was slapped with a dangerous building notice in 2018, before being wrapped in a protective scaffolding.

In May, crews were called to tackle a blaze, although it appears that tonight's fire is far worse. A spokesperson for Scottish Fire and Rescue said: "We were called at 5.37pm to reports of a fire at the Station Hotel, on Smith Street."We received a further 67 calls regarding the fire.

We currently have 13 appliances at the scene." Read next: Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter