Does fighting Fire with Fire work?

Question

I've often heard the phrase that its best to fight fire with fire.

I wonder if their are any Firemen or Women professionals who have tried this approach and can comment on its effectiveness.

Or indeed anyone who has found themselves in the situation of trying to extinguish a blaze?

Answer 1

Fire fighters use it all the time, when they control-burn a field so the wild fire will stop there.

It also works in war.

And in politics, where the American stand is not to negotiate with terrorist nations like Iran. The fact that Iran's president said 2 days ago he is willing to negotiate plays into Obama's hands. Obama wants to negotiate. If the American public buys this and votes for him, Iran will have won what they want--a president they think will lose against them. They fear McCain the way the Soviet Union feared Ronald Reagan--and so did Iran, giving back our prisoners after 444 days only on the day that Reagan took office.

Reagan and McCain use political fire to fight political fire.

Why do you ask this in Mythology?

Answer 2

depends on what fire, in australia we control some fires by doing a controlled burn, so the fire cannot jump from place to place,but the fire often jumps. not a fireman, but had a relative that worked as a local one

Answer 3

Try googling "controlled burn."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_...

Answer 4

yes it has been done, although I don't know if it is best but it has worked and proved effective in huge fires they will burn an area ahead of the fire in a controlled burn so that when when the fire gets to that area it just burns out because the fire can't reach anything else to burn

Answer 5

Thanks for your question. I was slighty confused by the 'Firemen or Woman professionals'. I can see the firemen, but where did woman professionals come from? I am a female professional, but perhaps you mean firewoman?

I have never found myself in such a situation, but if I did, I think the last thing i would do is light another fire to extinguish the blaze. It doesn't really sound like it would work...infact I have a sneaky suspicion it may work in the favour of the fire.

Answer 6

Not always. Sometimes the very fire you are using to fight with will only ignite another.

I hope you find what you are seeking.

Answer 7

Well first off the phrase is actually metaphorical... it doesn't actually mean fighting fire with fire... it means when you have someone firing at you, to fire it back too... but even in metaphor, it still doesn't make sense to me... so I think its all confusing!

Answer 8

They already do that with the wildfires on the west coast.  They burn out the fuel in controlled fires to starve out the wildfires.

In other types of fires, they use explosives to just "blow out" the fire as well.

Both requires space to operate and clearance to avoid damaging adjacent structures.

However, the phrase was intended to mean matching weapons fire with return weapons fire . . . probably originated by the gun industry as a marketing strategy . . .  

Answer 9

Fighting Fire with Fire

Couples who fight fire with fire can expect a relationship that is constantly up in flames. Name-calling, sarcasm, criticism, and violence (from throwing things, slamming doors, to actual physical abuse) result in emotional wounds that are hard to heal and relationships that are hard to rescue.

The Cure: Pour Water on the Flames

The next time you feel anger guiding you to say, or do, things you might regret, take time to cool off. If that's not possible, try framing your complaints as requests. For instance instead of, "Why did you forget our date?," you could say, "I feel sad that you forgot our date. How can we make sure this doesn't happen again?" If your partner is the one who is fanning the flames, don't engage in the vicious cycle of insults and tantrums. You can't fight fire with fire if the other person won't engage in the flame-throwing.

good luck