When my brother and I were young, we were woken up in the middle of the evening by both of our parents screaming! A space heater had fallen over in the living room and the whole downstairs space was on fire, and we had to evacuate the house using the upstairs window.
I twisted my ankle when we jumped.
I will never forget that fire as long as I live. Even though it did not cause significant destruction to the house, I still have PTSD from the fire. During the winter months, I never use a space heater. I don’t have a fireplace in my house either, for the same exact reason. I have a gas furnace in my house and I have a routine maintenance checkup performed on the gas furnace each and every year. I trust the professionals at the gas furnace maintenance and replacement business. It honestly gives me wonderful peace of mind to know that the system is in tip top shape when the winter months are here and I have to run the heat. I barely slept at all during the winter months, but the thought of a fire in the middle of the evening is still a fear that keeps me up. I have had several therapists tell me that hypnosis could work, however I don’t believe in that sort of thing. I feel it is healthy to have a fear of something like gas furnace fires. They could really happen and I don’t want to ever be a victim again. It’s not like I am afraid of the boogeyman or something that is not real.