WALKER, Mich. — The Walker Fire Department is responding to a growing number of battery-related fires, with more than a dozen incidents in the past month or two alone, officials said.

Walker paramedic and fire inspector Scott Kiernicki said the fires are stemming from a variety of sources, not solely electric vehicles.

“We’ve seen an uptick in the number of electric or lithium-ion pallet jacks in large commercial structures. We’ve seen micro mobility — the small scooters and the bike-share bicycles that people ride around,” Kiernicki said.

Kiernicki said the trend reflects a broader gap in regulation around electrically charged devices.

“It’s kind of an all-hands-on-deck approach, and they’re very unsafe,” he said. “The micro mobility devices, pallet jacks, EVs and cars that are electronically charged are very convenient for people. I also think that there’s not a lot of fire code out there yet that regulates these types of things.”

Battling these fires requires significantly more time and manpower than a conventional vehicle fire, Kiernicki said. A car fire involving a traditional combustion engine can typically be extinguished in 30 seconds to a minute, he said. Tuesday morning’s electric vehicle fire took between 30 and 45 minutes to put out.

“You’re fighting the fire and the off-gassing and evacuating the structure if it’s inside,” Kiernicki said. “The second thing is, if it’s going to burn for a long time, you must be there to monitor that — and while you’re there, that means you’re not somewhere else.”

Once a fire is extinguished, crews must decontaminate all equipment used on scene, adding further time to each call.

“Most importantly, we really have to clean our gear — the hoses we use, the fire gear we have on, our respirators. All of that has to be cleaned,” Kiernicki said.

The department is adding staff this summer. Those interested in joining are encouraged to contact the Walker Fire Department.