I've never had a fire in my home, but I have been attacked in the street. If I had been armed, I expect it would have gone a lot worse for me than it did. I might not be alive to write this post had I had a gun on me then.
I think it's also important to highlight like you did that guns don't solve all problems and that with them you can end up in an even worse situation. Just like some people get killed by seatbelts in a way.
Considering the huge backlash against the vaccine due to the negative effects, I would argue most people aren't capable of doing a cost/benefit analysis and understand that.
As you say, though, just another anecdote.