A Perth family lost their home just before Christmas, but its resident credits an Apple iPhone app to have saved lives in a housefire blaze in the early hours on 21 December.
Valentina Pavlovic, a 19-year-old Perth teenager who has recently returned from Europe to take part in a study group to Singapore, said her life was probably saved by a new Apple iPhone that her mother Olga recently purchased for her.
“I love Apple”, Valentina said for Fairfield Local News. “I always use Apple devices. After watching an Apple show, I opted for new iPhone 14 pro due to better and new emergency features that only iPhone 14 models have, such as car accident detection and contacting emergency services via satellite if there’s no cellular or wifi. It is a feature that many people don’t know about, mainly because it only appears when you’re in danger.
I immediately linked my new iPhone with my Apple Watch and my Apple computer.”
Valentina was woken up in the middle of the night as the blaze engulfed her host family’s property in the Perth suburb of Bassendean. Her mother was at the time in Sydney visiting family in Fairfield and friends, when she received Valentina’s Emergency SOS alert with the exact location.
Valentina said:
“When police came, they saw me trying to contain the fire that was threatening neighbouring properties through the trees in the garden. There was a hissing sound from the gas device as I didn’t know if it would explode or not.”
“I saw my phone and it was red in SOS mode. I don’t know if it was my Apple Watch recording my heartbeat with 160 beats per minute at 2am that sent off emergency alert alarm via my iPhone to the local Emergency Services. It could have also been when I needed a flashlight, and my fingers clicked all the buttons on my iPhone that it ended up calling emergency services.”
Her host family member, a man in his 60s, suffered burns to his feet and some smoke inhalation.
While most of the residents’ contents have been destroyed, it is damage done to Valentina’s Australian passport that has caused her most grief because of her imminent student trip to Singapore. However, it is another iPhone feature that is managing the application process more smoothly.