When my O-320 in a Cherokee "burst into flames" shortly after rotation, killing the engine was not an option as it would mean landing on top of a factory roof at the end of the runway. The engine was still producing power and the airspeed was still increasing. With a cabin full of smoke and intense heat coming from behind the firewall that I thought the soles of my shoes had melted on the rudder pedals, a decision was made to perform an engine shutdown at 400ft which gave enough hight to turn around and land on the non-duty runway.
With the engine shut down, the fire extinguished, and the most beautiful non-duty runway directly in front of me, an unfortunate error outside my control had created yet another immediate challenge which almost ended in an even bigger number of fatalities...we got lucky that day.
Only the pilot in command can judge how to handle these emergencies as they are dealt to him/her. Give 'em a break as they managed to walk away from it at the end of the day.