Apple HomePod Saves Family After Fire Accidentally Set by Dog

Apple’s HomePod has saved the lives of a sleeping family after their dog accidentally started a fire in their kitchen.

Early on June 26th, the Colorado Springs Fire Department noticed a house fire in their district. In a video shared on Facebook (first seen by MacRumors), a house fire broke out unexpectedly. The department claims the homeowners received a “high heat” alert from their HomePod, prompting them to contact the Colorado Springs Fire Department.

However, as pointed out in the original report, Apple’s HomePod does not have the ability to send alerts regarding temperatures. Instead, Apple’s smart speaker offers a Sound Recognition feature, which can detect the sound of fire. If detected, HomePod will send an alert to the user.

In this case, that’s exactly what happened. As the family wasn’t alerted by their fire alarm, the HomePod sent an alert to the homeowners using the Sound Recognition feature. This option sends alerts to connected devices such as iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. However, this is a standard notification. HomePod isn’t able to send audible alerts.

The cause of the fire? According to the video shared, the family’s dog accidentally turned on the stove. It appears as though it was curious and began sniffing or inspecting some boxes that were on top of the stove. Standing on its hind legs, the dog accidentally turned the stove on, allowing a fire to break out. The family were alerted in time and were able to extinguish the fire prior to the fire department arriving. Thankfully, no injuries between the family and their pet were sustained.

For those curious to use Sound Recognition on their own HomePod, the option is available by navigating to ‘Safety and Security’ and selecting the ‘Smoke and CO Alarm’ option under ‘Sound Recognition.’