What a story! Apple's HomePod saves lives after the family dog starts a fire
The Apple HomePod smart speaker isn't known for saving lives like the Apple Watch is, and dogs aren't known to start potentially deadly fires like some people are. But this strange turn of events is what makes this story so interesting. This all took place in Colorado on June 26th when the Colorado Springs Fire Department was alerted to a house fire. As far as we can tell, the dog did not make the phone call.
Apple's HomePod gave a "high heat" warning which alerted the homeowners to the fire, according to the fire department. That sounds like a good promotion for the HomePod except for one thing. The device does not come with a feature that warns about high temperatures. More likely, the HomePod's Sound Recognition feature, which can recognize the sound of a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm, recognized the former and sent a notification to the homeowner's iPhone, Apple Watch, or iPad. Why the family didn't recognize the sound of the smoke alarm itself is not known.
To set up the HomePod's Sound Recognition feature, follow these directions:
- Open the Home app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap the More button, then tap Home Settings.
- Tap Safety & Security.
- Tap Sound Recognition, then turn on Smoke & CO Alarm.
If you own an Apple HomePod, it would behoove you to enable this feature if you have a smoke alarm or a carbon monoxide alarm in your home. If you don't have either alarm in your home, it would behoove you to add them. After all, you never know when your dog might accidentally start a fire. That's what happened here as the family dog accidentally turned on the stove. Some boxes were on the stovetop and when the dog got up on his rear legs to look at them, a stove knob was accidentally turned on activating the burner which started the fire.
Luckily, the family was alerted by the HomePod notification, called the fire department, and extinguished the fire before they arrived. Outside of a little smoke inhalation, the family escaped any serious injury, and the dog managed to bark his way out of an arson arrest. Seriously though, you might not have known that Apple's smart speaker has a sound recognition feature. Now that you know, you should take advantage of it. That is not why they call it a "smart" speaker, but you probably knew that already.
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