Apple’s HomePod prevented a tragedy in Colorado, alerting a family to a fire caused by their dog.
On June 26, the Colorado Springs Fire Department responded to a house fire call and posted the details and a video on Facebook. The homeowners were alerted to the fire by the HomePod, which woke them up in the early morning hours.
According to the Fire Department, the homeowners received a “high temperature” alert from the HomePod, which informed them about the fire. However, the HomePod does not have the ability to detect temperatures.
The HomePod has a sound recognition feature, which can detect the sound of a fire alarm and send an alert. Most likely, this feature was activated, notifying the homeowners about the fire. It has not been clarified why the family did not hear the fire alarm that the HomePod detected.
The sound recognition on HomePod sends notifications to connected iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches, but does not provide audio alerts. You can enable this feature in the Home app, by going to settings, in the Safety section, and activating the Smoke and CO Alarm option in Sound Recognition.
The fire was caused when the family’s dog accidentally turned on the stove. The homeowners had a lot of boxes in the hearth, and when the dog stood on its hind legs to inspect them, it turned the stove knob, activating the burner. The video shows the fire starting shortly after this.
The homeowners managed to put out the fire before the fire department arrived and there were no injuries, although they were treated for smoke inhalation.
