You know, it only takes a few seconds for tragedy to occur.
I actually learned this the hard way with our fireplace and our toddler.
I told the kids to watch baby Joseph while I was doing the dishes. I had a fire going in the fireplace and I was ready to relax in front of the fire when I had all the dishes taken care of. Unfortunately, little Joseph had a fascination with the flames in the fireplace. While the kids were supposed to be watching him, they all were distracted by either the TV or their video games and nobody was watching baby Joseph when he grabbed one of the fireplace pokers and he flung a piece of burning wood onto the carpet in the living room! The next thing I heard, everybody was screaming that the carpet was on fire! I ran out with the fire extinguisher. Luckily, I had the fire extinguisher right there in the kitchen and I was able to put out the flames in a jiffy. Luckily nobody was hurt including baby Joseph, but I was furious because the fire burned through the carpet and ruined the hardwood floor underneath. I was mad that the kids weren’t watching baby Joseph as I told them and I grounded everybody. I actually thought about not using the fireplace any longer, but I thought that was ridiculous. I didn’t want to have to rely solely on the heating system to keep the house warm and I really enjoyed relaxing in front of the fireplace. I just realized that I couldn’t depend on the kids to watch their baby brother.