Family credits HomePod with alerting them to a kitchen fire started by their dog

We hear a lot of stories about Apple Watch saving lives, but what about HomePod? A new story out of Colorado this month details how a family’s HomePod alerted them to an overnight fire in their kitchen …

As a refresher, the second-generation HomePod and the HomePod mini offer a feature called Sound Recognition. When this feature is enabled, your HomePod can detect the sound of a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm in your home, and alerts you by sending a notification to your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch.

This feature is seemingly what kicked in for a family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In a post on Facebook, the Colorado Springs Fire Department says that the family’s dog “got a bit curious and accidentally switched on the oven, which had some boxes on top of it.”

The family was then alerted to the fire when their HomePod sent them a push notification on their iPhone. They were able to put out the kitchen fire before the fire department arrived:

Engine 23 arrived on scene at 4:47 a.m. at a residential home with no visible fire or smoke. Upon investigation, crews did not find any active fire but did find evidence of a fire. The male homeowner was able to extinguish the fire before crews got there but was later transported to a local hospital for smoke inhalation.

No other injuries were reported to people or pets. After talking to the homeowners and looking through their home security footage, we determined their pup got a bit curious and accidentally switched on the oven which had some boxes on top of it.

To enable Sound Recognition on your HomePod 2 or HomePod mini:

1. Open the Home app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap ‘…’, then tap Home Settings
3. Tap Safety & Security.
4. Tap Sound Recognition, then turn on Smoke & CO Alarm.

One thing I’ll tack on to this story: please make sure you have proper smoke and carbon monoxide detectors throughout your house. Sound Recognition on the HomePod is a great feature, but there’s no substitute for having your house equipped with smoke and carbon monoxide detectors throughout.

Oh, one more thing: don’t blame the innocent pup in this situation and don’t leave boxes on your stove.

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