Melissa Gilbert responds to "one of the most often asked questions" about the Deadly Fire episode of "Little House on the Prairie."

In 1974, Michael Landon created Little House on the Prairie with an ensemble cast. 

Landon based the series on the books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and cast Melissa Gilbert as his on-screen daughter, Laura Ingalls, but took a great deal of creative license during the show's nine seasons.

 Gilbert presented a revelation from a memorable episode that left the audience shocked. Season 6 of "Little House" is titled "May We Make Them Proud."

In the episode "May We Make Them Proud" from the sixth season of Little House, Albert Ingalls (Matthew Labyorteaux) experiments with smoking in the basement of the School for the Blind.

 The structure was also home to Mary Ingalls Kendall (Melissa Sue Anderson), Adam Kendall (Linwood Boomer), and their infant son. Later, when the school erupts in flames due to embers from the pipe Albert used, the evacuating people are unaware that the infant is still in his cot. 

When wife and mother Alice Garvey (Hersha Parady) runs to save the infant, she appears to attempt to escape the blaze by using the child as a "battering ram" to smash a window. Mary is left in a sad stupor, while Alice's husband Jonathan (Merlin Olson) and son Andy (Patrick Labyorteaux) are overcome with sorrow.

Fans were horrified by the terrible plot and still clearly recall the 1980 program decades later.

Melissa Gilbert clarifies 'Little House' episode Gilbert kept her starring role on Little House across all nine seasons. Gilbert notes that fans continue to approach her about the terrible conclusion of "May We Make Them Proud" despite the fact that she is still linked with her renowned persona. 

She addressed the incident in her 2014 book. The Little House alum said in My Prairie Cookbook, "All right, I will conclude this part by answering one of the most often requested topics." 

"In the sixth season episode 'May We Make Them Proud,' Mrs. Garvey and Mary's baby are trapped inside the blind school after Albert sets it on fire by mistake. People frequently question, "Why did Mrs. Garvey use Mary's infant as a battering ram against the window in her attempt to escape the fire? Gilbert argued that the entire plot was created by highlighting how Landon frequently deviated from the actual events described in Wilder's books.

"This is my concluding study on the topic," she stated. Mrs. Garrety did not exist. Mary Ingalls was never married, hence she never had a child. Albert did not cause the fire at the school for the blind that did not exist. … It was all fabricated! All of it, made from scratch." A Little House alum examined the site more closely.

Gilbert suggested that those who are still disturbed by the terrifying moment focus on certain portions of Alice Garvey's actions.

"If you look extremely closely, you can see that Mrs. Garvey is attempting to smash the glass with her own arm and elbow," the former Little House star explained. "Yes, the arm that is cradling the infant is her own arm. It's a truly terrifying moment that was, in my opinion, flawlessly acted.

 It never occured to me that she may have utilized the infant to break the window. Not until you all began asking me about it!" Gilbert reiterated that the entire plot of Little House was fabricated, right down to the location of the fictitious fire.

"The answer is NO," she wrote. "The fictitious Mrs. Garvey did not use Mary's fictitious infant as a sledgehammer to smash the glass of the fictitious school for the blind that was on fire!"