Concerns over lithium-ion battery safety are growing as the number of related fires continues to rise across Canada.

Vancouver Fire Rescue says it is now responding to at least one fire a week caused by rechargeable batteries.

“It is on a steady increase for the last few years,” said Vancouver Fire Public Information Officer Matthew Trudeau.

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Many of the fires break out when the batteries are charging, leading to a main part of the messaging during this Fire Prevention Week.

“The biggest thing is to make sure we’re using them properly,” said Comox Fire Capt. Brent Craven. “So making sure you’re using the right cables it came with to charge them, making sure you’re not over charging them and making sure you dispose of them properly once they’ve reached their end of life.”

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