Short of being home and reacting immediately with a fire extinguisher when the smoke alarm is triggered I certainly agree with you that there's little that bein

Short of being home and reacting immediately with a fire extinguisher when the smoke alarm is triggered I certainly agree with you that there's little that being away changes w/ respect to the electrical fire risk profile and potential for loss. Whether you're gone for a week or gone for 15 minutes makes little difference in responding to a fire. Responding to a water-related disaster is a different story, though, and worth bringing up. You might want to consider turning off your water at the main if you're going to be away from home for an extended period. I was fortunate in that the only water-related failure I've had personally was a ruptured water heater leaking into a floor drain of a 1st floor utility room. I know others who haven't been so lucky (having clothes washer hoses rupture, fixtures fail, etc) and have had water running inside their home for an extended period (several days, in one case). Until someone notices the local municipality reading excessive usage, a neighbor noticing water running out a patio door, etc) the damage continues and, to add insult to injury, you're also getting charged for the water / sewer usage.