Evacuation Voice Prompt for Fire Alarms

Hi SimpliSafe Community,

I'm Sergio Vergara, a Fire and Life Safety Educator with the Batesville Fire Department. I have several internationally recognized certifications, including Firefighter I-II, Fire Officer I-II, Fire Inspector I, and Fire & Life Safety Educator I.

Being a SimpliSafe user since 2019, I appreciate the quality of the service and the products. I am happy to see that SimpliSafe has added a combination Smoke/CO Alarm. Today, I'd like to share a suggestion regarding the smoke and combo smoke & CO alarms.

I propose integrating a Voice Notification Signal, in line with NFPA 72: National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, Chapter 29. This feature would let the alarm broadcast a pre-recorded evacuation message, a beneficial aspect already seen in products like First Alerts Wireless Interconnected Smoke Alarm with Voice & Location. Research from institutions like The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital suggests that voice alarms perform better than tone alarms in waking children and prompting escape responses. 

Interestingly, the SimpliSafe base station already includes a speaker that emits tone evacuation signals. This existing hardware could potentially be leveraged to support the voice notification feature, adding minimal overhead while significantly improving safety.

Implementing a voice notification signal could make our homes safer, and I'm keen to hear your thoughts on this suggestion. 

Best,

Sergio Vergara