Striking firefighters who left a picket line to tackle a house blaze said they had to put equipment in their own cars because fire engines were locked .

The firefighters evacuated the house in Ayr and extinguished the blaze before the Green Goddess fire tenders, operated by military personnel, arrived on the scene.

Strathclyde Fire Brigade said fire appliances were locked to protect them and union officials had been informed of where the keys were being kept.

Meanwhile, the number of hoax 999 calls received by the police and military saw a big reduction during the second night of the strike.

Fire facts

Scotland has 4,588 full-time firefighters 2,799 part-time firefighters 1,200 volunteer firefighters 520 fire engines 30 aerial appliances 14 rescue and emergency vehicles 59 other specialist vehicles 109 Green Goddesses will be used in Scotland

In the Strathclyde area, where more than 200 hoax calls were received on the first evening of the walkout, the numbers were down to a handful.

In Edinburgh, a block of flats in Gorgie Road was evacuated, but no one was hurt.

In a suspicious fire on the 17th floor of a high rise in the centre of Aberdeen, the area was also evacuated.

The military in Scotland said it was pleased overall with the way its much criticised Green Goddesses had coped with the work.

Breathing apparatus

Firefighters' claims that their attempts to assist military personnel had been hampered by fire engines being locked were dismissed as a "mystery" by fire chiefs.

Two striking firefighters in Ayr left the picket line on Thursday night to rescue four adults and two children from a house.

Firefighter Robert Gibson said the fire engines at the station had been locked.

He said: "We actually had to put breathing apparatus sets in to our own private cars with the firefighting kit and proceed as quickly as possible.

"We were there a good five minutes before the Green Goddesses and they were only quarter of a mile away.

The army says it has coped well

"We had the fire out and everybody out of the house and then handed over to the army."

Strathclyde Fire Brigade's deputy firemaster David Kennedy said they had to have some process of protecting fire engines while stations were empty.

"We did speak to union officials and tell them what our policy would be and where the keys would be," he said.

"If some people have forgotten that we are happy to remind them."

He said the brigade would be happy to have a policy whereby striking firefighters were informed of any "life-risk" fires in their area that they may wish to respond to.

The 48-hour strike by Scotland's firefighters is due to end at 1800 GMT on Friday.