can I burn wood in my gas fireplace?

I have a fireplace in my apartment that I“ve only used a few times since moving in over 4 years ago. It is a gas fireplace—you flip a switch, light it with a match, and voila! When I moved in, there were also some logs over the gas line (which I assumed were fake) and they’ve been sitting there ever since (they haven’t caught on fire the few times I“ve lit the gas fireplace. I rarely use the fireplace because the gas is expensive and it doesn’t produce enough heat to really warm the house. However, I have a new roommate who moved in and says that he thinks you can actually light a real fire in the stove… he says that at his parents’ house there is a gas fireplace that is used to get the fire going, and you can then put real wood in to have a nice fire. To me, this seems like potential for a crazy gas explosion, but I“m from Manhattan where no one ever has fireplaces, so what do I know? I thought of asking our landlord but I didn’t want to sound like an idiot in case adding wood is a potential fire hazard—don’t want him to think I“ll burn down the house. Thoughts?