We are used to seeing how the Apple Watch saves lives, but a HomePod? Yes, just as reported on MacRumors a few days ago, in Colorado, a HomePod became an unexpected hero by saving the lives of a family after detecting a fire in their home. The story is quite unusual, no doubt, but what it makes clear is that home automation is playing an increasingly important role in our lives.
Early detection and urgent warning were key
On June 26th, the Colorado Springs Fire Department received a call alerting them to a fire at a local residence. The incident started in a rather unusual way: the family’s dog, while trying to reach some boxes on the kitchen counter, accidentally turned one of the knobs, igniting the burners. Shortly after, the boxes caught fire, triggering the fire alarm. Interestingly, although the alarm went off, the owners didn’t hear it.
It was the HomePod, through its ability to recognize this type of sounds, that sent an alert to the owners’ connected devices, waking them up and allowing them to act in time. When the fire department arrived at the scene, they found that the homeowner had been able to extinguish the fire before it got out of control.
Something that, otherwise, might not have happened, as the incident occurred in the early hours of the morning, while the occupants of the house were sleeping. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries, other than treatment for smoke inhalation.
How could the HomePod alert the homeowners like that? The Sound Recognition feature of the HomePod, which can be activated from the Home app, under the Security and Protection settings, took care of everything. The Apple speaker was able to interpret that the sound in the kitchen was a fire alarm and sent an urgent alert to all connected iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.
There are many times when we can overlook certain security features on devices, in this case Apple devices. It’s true that these are not features we want to use, but it’s also true that it’s better to have them activated. While the next Apple device is being leaked, it’s rare to read about a HomePod preventing a fire and saving lives, but in this case, a timely notification made all the difference.
