Fire Brigade
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Since the creation of Medway Council in 1998 the Fire Brigade is run by the Kent and Medway Fire Authority, a joint authority of the two councils and the Police and Crime Commissioner.
The Fire Brigade sums up what they do on their website:
Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) provide a variety of services ranging from attending fires and road crashes, to water and animal rescues. We help prevent fires by visiting people in their homes, schools and colleges, our water rescue units help people who are struggling in water, and our crews are there to help rescue anyone involved in road traffic crashes.
We visit and advise businesses on how to ensure their premises are safe for themselves and their customers. We work with other organisations such as the ambulance service, local authorities and the National Fire Chiefs Council, and undertake research to help everyone live safer lives.
They emphasise that they are not just about dealing with incidents when they happen, but preventing them in the first place by fire safety advice for businesses and the general public. For the elderly and some vulnerable people, free fire safety visits are also available.
Fire Stations
Kent and Medway has 56 fire stations as of May 2026 (see map).
For many years our area was recognised as needed improved fire cover, because the fire brigade struggled to get to incidents within target times. This led to the opening of the Ash-cum-Ridley fire station in Chapelwood Road near Butler's Place in 2014. This is an on-call station, which means it is not permanently manned but is crewed by staff members who have to be able to get the station within 5 minutes of a call.
Because Ash is an on-call station, the majority of incidents in our area are dealt with by the full time stations at Dartford and Thames-Side (Gravesend), see statistics below.
Links
Business Fire Safety (KFRS)
Incidents
The Kent Fire Brigade website has a database listing Significant Incidents Attended. The table below lists the total number of incidents and engines attending in the parishes of Ash and Hartley in the 3 years from 1 July 2018 (Source: Freedom of Information Request). Some incidents are attended by more than one fire engine. A fire in Ash in July 2018 was attended by 10 fire engines from all over the county, including stations as far away as Tenterden.
Fire Station | Ash | Hartley | Total |
| Dartford | 43 | 70 | 113 |
| Thames-side (Gravesend) | 72 | 21 | 93 |
| Ash-cum-Ridley | 29 | 9 | 38 |
| Larkfield | 19 | 19 | |
| Swanscombe | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Strood | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Borough Green | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Maidstone | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Chatham | 3 | 3 | |
| All Others | 12 | 2 | 14 |
| Total engines attending | 187 | 111 | 298 |
| Number of incidents | 136 | 81 | 217 |