MURDER PROBE AFTER HOUSE BLAZE
Victim dies following deadly fire at his Paisley home
A murder investigation has been launched following the death of a Paisley man.
John Dalziel, 47, was pulled from a house blaze in Whites Bridge Avenue, in the Ferguslie Park area of town, shortly after 10pm on Thursday.
He was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital with serious injuries and died a short time later.
Police Scotland, who originally described the death as unexplained, last night revealed they were treating it as murder.
A Police Scotland spokesman said a number of people were around the property at the time, who may have responded to the blaze, and have appealed for witnesses to come forward.
Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Grainger, of the
Major Investigation Team, said: “We are working to establish the full circumstances of what happened and our thoughts are very much with the family of Mr Dalziel at this difficult time for them.
“If anyone saw anything or heard anything before or after the incident that might help with our investigation, then I would urge them to come forward.”
Shocked neighbours told the Paisley Daily Express the property had been the target of vandals recently.
A man, who didn’t want not to be identified, said: “There seemed to be some sort of feud going on. The house was vandalised a few times recently. The street is normally really quiet otherwise.”
One neighbour added: “The window was broken three nights before the fire. There always seemed to be people coming and going at all hours.”
Another shocked neighbour, who also did not want to be identified, said: “About eight months ago all the windows were smashed at the house.
“They just seemed to board up all the windows and it was like that for a while before they were replaced.”
A passer-by who came to pay his respects said John was a quiet guy who may have fallen on hard times.
“I used to come up and sit with him outside. He was a good guy. I don’t know what happened to him,” he added.
“He seemed to fall in with the wrong crowd.”
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson added: “We were alerted to reports of a house on fire at Whites Bridge Avenue, Paisley.
“Operations Control immediately mobilised three appliances to the scene and firefighters extinguished a fire within the ground floor of the semi-detached property.
“Crews left the scene after ensuring the area was made safe.”
Anyone with information on John’s death can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.