True but even gas stoves, clothes driers, water heaters etc can produce lethal levels of carbon monoxide if not properly (or have clogged) venting. And ounce of prevention is better than a 6 foot hole.

Other countries use less flammable materials in their construction. Wood frame construction is very common in the US due to drastically lower cost of wood vs block. We also had something called balloon frame construction for many years which made it much more likely for fire to travel within the walls. That being said not having detectors isn’t a great idea either since most are combo smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

The people claiming prices are the same or lower either are lying or their butlers are picking up the groceries.