As long as you are maintaining clearances by the manual, every thing should be fine. Wood combusts at a much higher temp then you hand can take. Its a radiator. Its going to be hot. If it gets to hot, it will shut down. So you can sleep ok at night. As far as pets, they have more instint then people give them, as far as kids, horseplay is how they get burnt. Put up a Kidco Child gate if your worried.

Due to Gas Leak and Fire Hazards Here is a link that might be useful: Lennox Hearth Products Recall

We have a nice Mendota gas fireplace, installed last year. Builder said "doesn't need a hearth". Installed the wood floor all the way up to the fieplace...and turned on the fireplace, and the floor was hot. Contacted Mendota. They said fireplace has to be 6" off the floor in order to not need hearth. Since ours is flush...now we have a hearth stone. So if you are doing flush, you will likely need one.

got it. sorry you had to go through all of that. I was just trying to give you some input on finishing up the FP so that it looks good to go w/your new black surround. Maybe you like that limewash, but all I'm saying is it should be painted a brighter white. The limewash wasn't done correctly. why not look at the lime slurry link I posted and try that? couldn't hurt. And I still stand by the mantel comment. the gray stain isn't doing you any favors. This is what it should look like, with the darker mantel stain. (your limewash was applied too heavy and it looks more like a primer. sorry, it just does) Go over it w/a good masonry white paint. If you like the look of this white hearth, then look for a white, large format tile, or leftover piece of quartz. I gave you plenty of info on hearth material in my first comment. not sure what exactly you're looking for other than larger format tiles. choose the 24x24 or 30x30, 24x48" and cut them to size. go to a stoneyard ask for some remnants that are going in the trash (they throw away smaller pieces they can't sell) See if you can have them or pay a small price for them. give them your hearth measurement and they'll prob cut it to size for you. polish the edges w/various grits of sandpaper. Lastly, get mosac tiles on sheets and set those on cement board or suitable tile substrate.