A man has died and more than 300 people have been evacuated in separate blazes on the second night of the current national fire strike.

A military Green Goddess fire engines and two rescue teams attended a house fire in Alton Hill Avenue, Kilmarnock, in which the man died.

A spokesman for the 51st Scottish Brigade said the fire engine arrived at the scene five minutes after the call was received at 0217 GMT,

One person was rescued and taken to Crosshouse Hospital suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation.

Firefighters would have had it well under control quicker Kenny Ross FBU

However, they were unable to save the man, whose identity has not been released.

Earlier in the night, military fire crews with Green Goddesses tackled a major blaze in Glasgow city centre.

The fire, in a five-storey building beside university halls of residence on the corner of Sauchiehall Street and Garnet Street, began at about 1940 GMT on Wednesday.

An Army spokesman said they had asked nearby striking firefighters to help but they refused to leave their picket lines unless lives were in danger.

The military team worked for over two hours to get the blaze under control and needed an aerial water tower to be sent under police escort from Dundee.

More than 300 people were evacuated from surrounding buildings, including students from adjacent halls of residence.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said firefighters had been "concerned" lives might be in danger but "were told that everyone had been evacuated".

Kenny Ross, chairman of the Strathclyde branch of the FBU, said the blaze showed the need for trained firefighters to be working through the night, particularly in city centres.

'Incorrect spots'

"There is no way this fire should have got to this stage," he said.

"Firefighters would have had it well under control quicker and would have managed to keep the damage to at the very most one floor, not damaging the whole building."

He added: "I was near the building and saw how the Army were tackling the fire. It seemed like their jets were not being directed at the correct spots."

Glasgow City Council said road restrictions would be in place in Sauchiehall Street and roads near the scene of the fire on Thursday.

Firefighters returned to work at 0900 GMT on Thursday at the end of the 48-hour walkout. A second 48-hour strike is due to start on Saturday.

Military crews answered 439 emergency calls during the two days of the walkout, with 147 fires attended. There were 14 calls to road accidents and 39 hoax calls.

Two 16-year-olds have been arrested in Crianlarich in connection with hoax calls to the emergency services.