Smoke alarms are both a blessing and a curse. A curse when you’re cooking or toasting bread, and the minute your culinary creation gets slightly burnt, there goes the alarm. Jokes aside, smoke alarms can be lifesavers, notifying us in our sleep the minute smoke is detected, giving us time to quickly assess the situation and make a decision. However, there are times when you are out of the house, or perhaps you’re a heavy sleeper, what then? Well the FireText Smoke Alarm hopes to provide an alternative means to waking you up or alerting you.

The FireText is actually a GSM based smoke alarm, and you can actually insert a SIM card into the device, so when smoke is detected and the alarm goes off, the device supposedly will also send out text messages up to four numbers. What this means is that if you’re out, you could be notified that something is happening to your home, and you could call the fire brigade instead of waiting for the neighbors or arriving home to find your house burnt to the ground. Alternatively, you could also alert your friends or family as well, to let them know that you or your house could be in danger.

It sounds pretty handy, and it will cost you. Retailing at Firebox for 89.99 GBP ($144), it’s definitely more expensive than your regular smoke alarm, and on top of that you will have to pay for carrier charges due to the use of the SIM card, but hey, the added level of safety that it could provide, and could potentially save your life and your home, we think it’s worth it.

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