A FIRE in Kilmarnock which led to the partial collapse of a building is being treated as deliberate, police have said.
The blaze erupted at the back of a four-storey building on King Street on Monday evening, with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) called to the scene shortly before 9pm.
Two fire engines and an aerial appliance remain on scene at the time of writing, with road and business closures in place.
King Street remains closed up to its junction with St Marnock Street and Sandbed Lane remains closed.
The Burns Mall shopping area was closed but has since reopened.
The SFRS said there were no reported injuries after the building partially collapsed during the fire, but that residents had been advised to keep their windows closed.
A spokesperson said that around 45 firefighters, six fire engines and two specialist high reach vehicles were battling the fire at its peak in the early hours of Tuesday.
Speaking to STV News, the owners of a tattoo studio destroyed in the incident said they have “lost everything”.
Hard Luck Tattoo Studio, which reopened in June after a year of renovations, was ruined by the fire, leaving owners Niky Brown and Kirsty Donald as well as their eight staff members without their livelihoods.
The couple, who have a 3-month-old child, described the fire as something out of a "Hollywood film".
A GoFundMe has been launched and has already received £20,000 in donations to replace some of the studio’s kit, worth upwards of £50k.
A SFRS spokesperson said that there was no early indication of what caused the fire, but that it would be carrying out a joint investigation with Police Scotland.
Group commander Paul Storrie told BBC Scotland: "The building partially collapsed during the incident and that's why we pulled back our crews to a safe area.
"We have areas cordoned off because of the structure of the building and we're working with our partners to make sure that we make that area safe."
Meanwhile, East Ayrshire Council confirmed that parts of the listed building would need to be demolished "as a matter of urgency".
A Police Scotland spokesperson said that enquiries into the cause of the fire were ongoing.
