SimpliSafe?

[Barbarossa]

Ahoy!  I've got a nice little brick house in a safe neighborhood.  Value around $160,000.  Owe about $90,000, but before you judge, I just bought it two years ago after living on a sailboat for eight years.  Paid $60,000 down in cash.  Currently a swami, thinking about going RVing or sailing again in a couple of years.  Meanwhile, I installed a SimpliSafe system.  Not so much for burglar protection, heck I never turn it on except when I'm gone a week or more, but for fire protection.  The smoke detectors will call the fire department first, then me, if there's an alarm.  That was my main goal.  However, I'm paying $14.95 a month for basic monitoring.  $179 a year.  SimpliSafe has an awesome reputation at monitoring, just look at the reviews on Amazon, along with the most reasonable monthly fee I could find.  But as a Mustachian I don't like that monthly fee.  I wonder, is fire monitoring worth it?  The odds are low, the consequences high.  The place is fully insured, as are my belongings, but I've had friends lose homes to fire and it's not something I want to experience.  I'm a minimalist, but even so I have some old family things I'd hate to lose, and a lot of cool stuff, like my bicycles.  What's everyone think?  Worth it or no?

Thanks!

[aFrugalFather]

I have SimpliSafe too but don't feel I need the monitoring fee.  Are you in a high fire danger area?  Otherwise it seems like the chance of burning down from random explosion in an unoccupied house should be minuscule?  If you have the upgraded siren your neighbors should hear the alarm and call you in case of trouble, unless you do not have a good relationship with them?  Also, how big are these irreplaceable family items, because maybe a safe deposit box would be worthwhile.  Overall I just think the odds of a randomly combusting house fire are so low that I can't imagine really worrying about it, but I'm not a firefighter nor have I looked into the frequency of such occurrences, so maybe you know more than I with regard to that area...

[NCGal]

Two items commonly used in my neck of the woods can lead to a house randomly combusting -- pine needles and fertilizer, especially if the pine needles are around the perimeter of your house, and the fertilizer is stored in a hot garage. 

If the system will help keep you from worrying while away, I'd keep it.

[elaine amj]

Personally, i would get a fire-proof safe. Would be cheaper in the long run.

[Blonde Lawyer]

I use it with monitoring to protect my pets in case of fire when I am not home.  It already paid for itself when my door mysteriously opened (maybe a break in) and the alarm went off.  Police arrived to find the door wide open and no one home but the pets.  They were able to secure it for me and the pets didn't run in the road and get hit.