How smart is your smoke detector?
Jay Smith, Editor-in-Chief
jays@modelaircraft.org
I received an email from a fellow veteran and modeler, Dave Herbert, who shared with me an unfortunate story. An electrical fire started in the roof of his shop, destroying all of his model aircraft, antique radios, vintage engines, trophies, and approximately 60 years of RC history. His vehicles and his house were also lost. Fortunately, his family and pets safely made it out.
Although the loss of everything by fire was devastating, Dave spoke more about the support that our aeromodeling community provided to him when hearing his story. He received help from people worldwide who sent models, chargers, helicopters, quadcopters, tools, food, and money. Even his military uniform was replaced! All of this unexpected help and support was more than he and his family could have ever anticipated.
Seeing his P-80 Shooting Star in the “Focal Point” section of the January 2017 issue of Model Aviation prompted Dave to reach out to me. Although the Shooting Star model was lost along with the rest, including a recently restored Byron Pitts, Dave wanted to say thank you and also suggest that people consider getting “smart” smoke detectors that will provide cellphone notification in case of an issue.
I thought it was a great idea to mention this in my column, especially because I recently installed two Nest Protect smoke/carbon monoxide devices in my own home. One is right in my shop. I also have a camera from the same company that lets me check on things anytime from my cellphone, and all of the devices will alert me if anything unusual is detected. To me, that peace of mind is worth the extra cost of smart devices.
If you have Wi-Fi at home, you might want to consider looking into smart devices. A number of options are available from several companies. If you would like to learn more about Dave’s story, visit www.youtube.com/NightFlyer.
