A new smoke alarm not only alerts you to a fire, but also summons emergency crews.
The Direct Connect 911 Smoke Detector alerts a central station whenever smoke is detected. The station in turn calls the fire department and notifies additional contacts by phone or email. A manual shut-off button lets you alert the emergency operators to a false alarm.
The central station also notifies you when the detector’s two-year batteries run low or the unit fails a weekly self-check.
The smoke detector communicates by the cellular network but doesn’t require the owner to have a cell-phone plan. Nor does it need to be connected to a building’s electricity, Internet, phone system or existing security network.
The Direct Connect 911 is made by PlugNProtect L.L.C. You can order the unit and monitoring service for $9.99 a month at www.directconnect911.com or 888-868-0355, or you can buy a unit and four months’ worth of monitoring for $44.97 from www.homedepot.com.
— Mary Beth Breckenridge
