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Officials: Amazon 'Alexa' saves family in Montgomery County house fire

The family of six was able to safely escape without any injuries due to the early warning of working fire alarm and Alexa.
Credit: AP
FILE - Amazon Echo and Echo Plus devices, behind, sit near illuminated Echo Button devices during an event by the company in Seattle on Sept. 27, 2017. Amazon’s Alexa might soon replicate the voice of family members - even if they’re dead. The capability, unveiled at Amazon’s Re:Mars conference in Las Vegas Wednesday, June 22, 2022, is in development and would allow the virtual assistant to mimic the voice of a specific person based on a less than a minute of provided recording. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Montgomery County Fire and Rescue credits a little-known feature on an Alexa device for saving a family's home when heavy smoke started coming from the garage Monday morning.

With its help, the family of six was able to safely escape without any injuries due to the early warning of the working smoke alarm and Alexa.

The fire crew was called to a single-family house in the 12600 block of Davan Drive in Colesville for a report of a garage fire. Shortly after, the four children and adults woke up from an alert in the home by their Alexa just before 2 a.m. 

According to MCRS spokesperson Pete Piringer, the family tracked down the smoke to a garage and attempted to open the door to investigate but were pushed back by the smoke and heat.

An investigation revealed two electrical chargers were plugged in and charging an electric bike and an electric lawnmower battery, Piringer said in a tweet. The cause of the fire was the combustibles were too close to a heat source. 

The damage estimates totaled approximately $175,000.

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