Skip to main content

Siri calls 911 after iPhone owner severely injured in a house explosion

siri saves man in new hampshire 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Siri has been credited with saving yet another person’s life. Christopher Beaucher of Wilmot, New Hampshire, says that if it weren’t for the AI-powered virtual assistant, he may not have lived to tell the tale of how he escaped an exploding house.

Over the weekend, Beaucher was checking on his mother’s vacant cottage, which was up for sale. When he saw something suspicious, he entered the residence to make sure nothing was amiss. This, however, turned out to be a near fatal mistake — as soon as he turned on the light, the entire house became engulfed in flames.

Recommended Videos

“The whole place caught fire,” Beaucher told local news station WMUR. “Part of it collapsed while I was in it during the initial explosion, so I couldn’t really tell where I was.”

While he was lucky enough to escape the premises and make it to his Land Rover where his cellphone sat, he was unable to dial any numbers due to the severe burns on his hands and fingers. So he decided to go with his next best option — asking Siri to do it for him.

“I had the presence of mind to use Siri to at least call 911,” Beaucher said. And luckily, Siri obliged, dialing 911 on Beaucher’s behalf.  “I was going into shock, too, so having Siri to dial 911 for me was critical,” he added.

Emergency responders reacted quickly to the call, and reached Beaucher in time to both put out the fire and transport him to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he is now recovering. “You know, I’m going to be OK after all of this. It’s just going to take a while,” he said.

While authorities are still investigating the cause of the explosion, you can help Beaucher in his recovery by donating to a GoFundMe page that his friends have created to account for the cost of treatment.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Some iPhone users report overheating when using Apple Intelligence
The Nomad Magnetic Leather Back on the iPhone 16 Pro Max

After a long wait, iOS 18.2 has finally rolled out to the public at large and unlocked more Apple Intelligence features like Image Playground, Genmoji, and an upgraded Mail app. It might have also introduced a way to keep your hands warm on these frosty winter days, according to some users.

Reddit user u/dsdxp posted on the iPhone subreddit that they had unlocked a secret feature in the iPhone 16 Pro. The comment was obviously sardonic, but many other users responded with their own stories of troubling temperatures from their iPhones. The common element between all of the stories was the Image Playground app and the excessive heat it creates while in use.

Read more
Apple is about to stop selling multiple iPhones in Europe. Here’s why
The iPhone 14 Plus held in a man's hand.

The iPhone SE and iPhone 14 series will no longer be available for purchase in Europe at the end of the year. In an effort to make technology more consumer-friendly, the European Union ruled that any mobile device sold must be able to charge through USB-C, according to iGeneration. While more modern entries in Apple's lineup already meet those guidelines, the iPhone SE and iPhone 14 do not.

These aren't the newest additions to Apple's lineup, but the iPhone SE and the iPhone 14 series are still sold in Europe. These will be pulled from shelves as the deadline approaches. Customers have plenty of options, but this decision will leave the European market without an iPhone SE option until the next model releases in 2025.

Read more
Apple’s mysterious iPhone 17 Air is one step closer to becoming a reality
A render of the iPhone Air.

For months, rumors have indicated that Apple plans to remove the iPhone Plus from the 2025 iPhone 17 lineup, and replace it with an entirely new model that might be called the “iPhone 17 Air.” A new report suggests that this phone is now closer to becoming a reality.

According to Digitimes, the new phone has entered the initial stage of manufacturing, known as the new product introduction (NPI) phase. At this stage, Apple and its manufacturing partners finalize a blueprint for creating the phone. It's a significant step in the process.

Read more