How to Make a Fireplace That Won't Burn Your House Down in Minecraft

Fireplaces are great decorative pieces for your house in Minecraft, but, if you are not careful, you can end up burning down your beautiful home. Though the overall look of your Fireplace is up to you, here is what you need to ensure you do so you don't burn your house down (unless it is made of a nonflammable material, then you are already fine).

Decide where it is going to go (I chose the corner of my house)
Clear out the area you want it in;
- You need the area under the fire made of nonflammable material
- 1 block in each direction around where the fire will be needs to be clear or made of a nonflammable material, so a 3 by 3 square around it
- Going up from where the fire will be you will need that 3 by 3 square to be made of nonflammable material for at least 3 levels above it. The only way to ensure nothing starts on fire is to keep that 3 by 3 rectangle made of nonflammable material no matter how far up you go from the fire, either have the material above it nonflammable or have nothing there (you can see the picture of the roof of my house where I continued the 3 by 3 of stone
Fill in stone (or another nonflammable material) around where the fireplace will be (anywhere the fire could touch), this includes below and above as directed before
Create a boundary around what will be on fire (I used stone steps leaving a hole in the corner where my fire source will be
Cover the area that will be above the fire with stone so it doesn't light up (all of that area) (as long as you just leave a 1 block high opening around where the fire will be, you will not be in danger of getting burned because you will physically not be able to touch it)
Put your flammable material in the fireplace (I just chose to use a block of wood which actually burned for quite some time)
Light it on fire with Flint and Steel

There you have it! Make sure the fire doesn't spread and enjoy!