Apple’s HomePod Saved a Family from a Fire Started by Their Dog

Apple’s HomePod prevented a tragedy in Colorado by alerting a family to a fire started by their dog.

On 26 June, the Colorado Springs Fire Department responded to a house fire and shared the details and a video on Facebook. The homeowners were alerted to the fire by their HomePod, which woke them in the early hours of the morning.

According to the Fire Department, the homeowners received a “high temperature” alert from their HomePod, which alerted them to the fire. However, HomePod cannot detect temperatures.

HomePod has a Sound Recognition feature that can detect the sound of a fire alarm and send a notification. This feature was most likely triggered, alerting the homeowners to the fire. It remains unclear why the family did not hear the fire alarm that HomePod detected.

Sound Recognition on HomePod sends notifications to connected iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch devices, but does not provide an audible alert. You can enable this feature in the Home app by going to settings, opening the Safety section and enabling the Smoke and CO Alarm option under Sound Recognition.

The fire started when the family’s dog accidentally switched on the cooker. The homeowners had several boxes on the hob, and when the dog stood on its hind legs to investigate them, it turned the hob’s control knob, switching on a burner. The video shows the fire starting shortly afterwards.

The homeowners managed to put out the fire before the fire service arrived, and there were no injuries, although they received treatment for smoke inhalation.