Crap Towns / Chatham / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Chatham?

There were 16.5 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Chatham from April 2023 to March 2026, 2.9 times the typical town's 5.7. The most common were grass, woods and crops set on fire, at 6.5. In 2025/26 it was 20.5, up from 13.3 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	13.3	5.2
2024/25	15.8	5.4
2025/26	20.5	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	6.5	1.7
Bins and rubbish set on fire	5.9	1.9
Other outdoor fires	4.1	1.5

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Chatham	–	16.5
Gravesend	12.9 km	15.4
Gillingham	3.4 km	7.3
Snodland	7.3 km	6.8
Kings Hill	13.2 km	6.5
Larkfield	9.2 km	5.6
Maidstone	10.2 km	5.2
Rochester	4.6 km	4.4
Coxheath	14.2 km	4.3
Hoo St Werburgh	6.8 km	4.0
Bearsted	10.6 km	0.4
The typical town	–	5.7