RESIDENTS fear that a block of flats in Gourock may have to be demolished after being ravaged by a fierce fire.

The blaze tore through a top-floor apartment in Royal Street in the early hours of Tuesday, causing huge damage to the tenement building.

Now the whole block at number 43 has been completely fenced off because of safety fears, with residents unable to return to their homes.

One resident said: “It’s being declared unsafe.

“I think it’s coming down.

“It’s all cordoned off with fencing around the site and the road is partly closed with diversions in place.” Around 25 firefighters battled the blaze just after 3am on Tuesday, with occupants in several flats being ordered to evacuate their homes over fears the fire could spread along loft space to adjacent buildings.

One resident in a neighbouring block told the Tele how he fled his home along with his fiancée after feeling the heat from the raging flames.

He described the site as a ‘blackened shell’.

Officials are currently carrying out a full inspection of the flats.

A spokesman for Inverclyde Council said: “Building services have secured the building and insurers are now assessing the damage.” More than 48 hours after the incident the cause of the blaze remains unclear.

Officers from the Fire Investigation Unit and Police Scotland were at the scene on Tuesday morning to begin a probe.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has now completed its site report and detectives from Greenock CID are leading the inquiry.

They are examining the possibility that the fire could have been started deliberately.

The resident of the destroyed flat, a woman in her 30s, was not at home at the time of the fire.

Mark McGeever, spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Specialist officers from our Fire Investigation Unit attended the scene.

“The incident was left in the hands of Police Scotland on Tuesday at 3.20pm.” Detective Inspector David Wagstaff, of Greenock CID, said: “Enquiries are ongoing to establish a possible cause.”