Can confirm. Fireplaces are way, way… WAY… overrated.
It is a solid proof point of how effective media and marketing is. It’s a weird artifact of modern times that miserable things from the past are romanticized.
Like pirates. Or vampires, which never really existed. But they might as well for some people.
Classic cars. “They don’t make ’em like they used to!”. They sure don’t. Because we wanted them to drive for more than 5,000 miles without replacing electrical components. Or drive more than 40 miles on the highway in 90 degree heat.
And that brings us to fireplaces. A terrible source of heat in every conceivable way.
“But I just like how it looks.” So it’s a light show. Literal fireworks.
“There’s nothing better than a nice roaring fire.” Ok, go through two winters using only your fireplace as a source of heat. And then let’s revisit your affinity for a ‘roaring fire’.
The fireplaces in your suburban neighborhood are why you are wheezing today. Leave it to folks in the suburbs to complain about wild fires. And then start a fire inside their house to create smoke in the neighborhood.