I have had ESD mats at several of the companies where I have worked. When I was setting up shops I did not worry about ESD and things worked just as well. Frankly, I don't think it is really needed if you have a small, grounded surface you can touch before handling static sensitive parts. And a conductive surface on the bench top, that is grounded can be problematic when working with breadboards or circuits tacked together in mid air. It can also provide a ground path if you come in contact with an energized circuit so it can be a shock hazard. I don't really like using ESD mats on any workbenches.
As for sparks and fire, I have worked in electronics for over 45 years. Much of that time I worked with high power TV and radio transmitters. I was in in college labs and home workshops for at least ten more years before and after that professional career, so about 65 years total. I have seen exactly ONE electrical fire which was in a tube type, professional, color monitor. It was confined to the inside of the steel outer enclosure so it did no damage to anything around it and it went out when power was turned off. On ONE other occasion I was close to an electrolytic capacitor that more or less erupted in my face. No sparks or fire and I was lucky that a steel member was between it and my eyes. Oh, and ONCE I accidentally placed a screw driver across a 24 VDC circuit that was capable of many Amps. The screw driver tip was vaporized and sparks did fly. But it was real brief and there was zero chance of a fire. Perhaps these few incidents could have ignited something like news paper, but not even a bare wood bench would have been at risk.
But in all of my 65+ years, that is about the sum total of sparks and fire that I have seen. This is real life, not Hollywood. I also do metal work and have shop grinders that can throw a much more impressive shower of sparks than any electronic device that I or you will ever work with. Still, as long as they don't hit an open container of gasoline, they do no harm. If you are reasonably careful, I don't really think you need to worry too much about sparks or fire.
I have set up two electronic benches in my home office and garage shops. The one here in the office is just an inexpensive, folding table as sold in home supply centers like Lowes or Home Depot. I did not add anything to the top. In the garage shop I installed an oak plywood top with solid oak borders on top of two purchased cabinets for drawer and shelf storage below. The top is finished with several coats of Water Based Polyurethane Wood Finish. I have used this on other benches and it is a durable surface, but not scratch proof. I have purchased what is called a
self healing mat for the top. These are available at hardware and hobby stores among other places. It is almost a perfect for the custom sized top so I got lucky there. I need to clear the top of the bench to install it.
NOTE: Self healing mats are intended for cutting thin things like paper, cardboard, plastic sheet, etc with hobby (Xacto) or similar knives. The knife only penetrates a short distance into them and they show no signs of damage after many cuts. In addition, they usually have an X-Y grid of lines with dimensions along the edges to serve as cutting guides. I often make use of that grid. And they are NOT conductive. IMHO, they make excellent tops for work benches.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=self+healing+mats