Firefighters dodged falling debris in fire which claimed life of disabled man

reasonable steps are taken towards minimising the risks.

“All external cladding systems should be required either to be entirely noncombustible or to be proven through fullscale testing not to pose an unacceptable level of risk in terms of fire spread.”

John said the fire was similar to London in as much as it was a tower block blaze that spread from floor to floor.

However, he said the Irvine fire was “nowhere near” the severity of the devastating London incident.

He said: “London reminded me of the fire in Irvine but not to the same extent.

“The firefighters in London must have gone through so much more than we did.

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “we would like to reassure residents that health and safety is an absolute priority for the Council.

“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service conduct quarterly inspections of all our residential high rise buildings, in addition to our own maintenance and inspection regimes. Residents are also encouraged to contact the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to arrange a free home fire safety visit.

“A North Ayrshire Council tenant sadly died in a house fire in one of our high-rise flats in 1999.

“The decision to replace the in-fill panels was taken immediately and the works were completed shortly afterwards. Investigations following the event were instrumental in bringing about a change in the regulations.”