I am a girl with an eye for a fabulous new product. One of the advantages of writing this blog is that I get to look into such things, and then tell you lovely readers all about it. So, I was looking through the new products that Fire Protection Online are selling, when I came across a Firetext Smoke Alarm.
Now, hopefully we are all familiar with smoke alarms. These nifty devices can detect smoke in the air in your house or business premises, and will then sound an alarm to alert you to the potential fire – as the saying goes, there’s no smoke without fire! This is how a traditional smoke alarm would function, and is all fine and dandy providing that you are in the vicinity in order to hear the alarm.
However, what if you were not there to hear it? Or, if you look after someone with special needs, or a disability, or an elderly person that requires extra care? What if you are away on holiday? Or you have responsibility for vacant premises – small business units, or an outbuilding, a holiday home, a caravan…the possibilities are endless. Well, in these cases, it wouldn’t be much use having just an alarm sounding, as no-one would be there to hear it, thus defeating the object of the exercise.
This is where the Firetext smoke alarm comes into play. This device has a patented, built-in SIM card which will send a text message to up to four mobile phone numbers to alert you that smoke has been detected . Pretty nifty, don’t you think? The SIM card is provided with the alarm, and all you need to do is to top it up with a minimum of £10 credit. The texts are sent using the O2 network, and are charged at 10 pence each – a bit of a bargain for such a useful service.
The smoke alarm has a photo-electrical optical smoke detector – which makes it less sensitive to toasters! – and comes with a two year guarantee. The development of this item is supported by the Alzheimer’s Society and Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Services, and it even won an award from Barclays Bank.
Personally, I think this is a really good idea – giving you peace of mind wherever you are. It can also reassure vulnerable people that someone will know if their smoke detector goes off, and will be able to help them if needed. Top marks to the creators of this device – and hurrah for new FPO products!!
