You can actually get out of a burning house pretty quick if you're alerted to the fact that it's burning before the smoke fills the space. Fire travels along the walls going up. Smoke likewise goes up, so you do have chance to exit. It all depends on knowing about it in time and resisting the temptation to try and fight the fire. Both fire I've been in during the recent years I've managed to get out with the cats. And during the last one I had a broken collarbone. The first one, the fire was right next door so it was a lot like being in a house on fire and the last one involved an explosion just upstairs. Both cases, there was ample warning. In the first case we had a good fire alarm system and in the second, the explosion provided the audible alarm.

I think you can reduce the risk of fire in the study by containing the papers in some reasonably air tight container. Fuel without air does not make for a fire.