iPhone user says virtual assistant Siri saved his life during a house explosion

A US man has credited Apple's virtual personal assistant Siri with saving his life when he sustained serious injuries in an explosion.

Christopher Beaucher travelled from Springfield on Monday 1 May to check up on his mother's vacant cottage in Wilmot, New Hampshire, which was up for sale. While outside, he saw something that looked suspicious through the window so he went inside to take a closer look.

When he turned on the light switch, the house suddenly exploded into flames and Beaucher sustained serious burns to his face, hands and knees.

"I'm very, very lucky to be alive. The whole place immediately caught fire... part of it collapsed while I was in it during the initial explosion so I couldn't really tell where I was," he told local TV news station WMUR Channel 9.

Somehow Beaucher managed to get himself outside to his Land Rover and grabbed his iPhone despite the car having caught fire too. However, his fingers were so badly burned that he couldn't use the device.

"Luckily I had the presence of mind to use Siri to dial 911. I was going into shock too so having Siri to dial 911 for me was critical," he said.

Emergency responders were able to get to Beaucher in time and put out the fire before it spread any further, and he is now recovering in Massachusetts General Hospital.

His friend Alan George has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise $5,000 (£3,870) to help Beaucher pay for his medical treatment until he can get back to his job as a hotel chef and tending his farm.