Happen more than you think, despite the absurd metaphor. Maybe there was an inferno in the neighbohood and no time to worry about the fire in the corner of the apartment. Maybe your publisher doesn't care if your house burns down but wants to make money now for their own earnings.

I don't think it's uncommon even outside of gaming for modern software to have these sort of "hidden fires". Games just get a lot more conversation and a lot of niche problems as a 3D real time application.