The first time I did a flambe was very exciting as I wasn't intending to light it at all. I'd added brandy to a dish and was cooking when it went foom and scared the life out of me! Nearly singed my eyebrows too. This is because the alcohol vapor built up into a cloud until it reached a flame and ignited. The next time I cooked with strong alcohol I was ready and deliberately lit it early on, and it made me look like a cooking legend to my guests while being overall safe.

Cooking inherently has some risk, you have heat and flammable ingredients like oil involved. Flambe looks scary, and if it goes wrong it can cook more than the stuff on the pan, but oil fires are just as bad if not worse and they can happen in any kitchen - and you should already be prepared for these.