Crap Towns / Kirkwall / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Kirkwall?

There were 4.3 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Kirkwall from April 2023 to March 2026, 81% lower than the typical Scottish town's 22.3. The most common were grass, woods and crops set on fire, at 1.9. In 2025/26 it was 3.5, up from 2.7 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical Scottish town
2023/24	2.7	22.6
2024/25	6.6	20.4
2025/26	3.5	19.0

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical Scottish town
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	1.9	6.2
Other outdoor fires	1.5	5.0
Bins and rubbish set on fire	0.9	8.2

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Elgin	150.1 km	16.6
Alness	162.1 km	15.3
Wick	59.9 km	13.8
Buckie	145.7 km	10.7
Fraserburgh	154.5 km	9.8
Lossiemouth	142.4 km	5.5
Nairn	164.8 km	4.7
Kirkwall	–	4.3
Thurso	54.4 km	3.5
Forres	157.9 km	3.2
Lerwick	165.5 km	2.2
The typical Scottish town	–	22.3