>I don't know from where the expression "fighting fire with fire" came from, it probably applies to war or something, but in such a case the fire is only a side-effect of the enemy dropping freaking bombs on you. And any firefighter will tell you that fire is fought with water and fighting it with fire is just plain dumb.
If I recall correctly (and wikipedia seems to back me up), it comes from creating firebreaks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firebreak ) via controlled burns.
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>I don't know from where the expression "fighting fire with fire" came from, it probably applies to war or something, but in such a case the fire is only a side-effect of the enemy dropping freaking bombs on you. And any firefighter will tell you that fire is fought with water and fighting it with fire is just plain dumb.
If I recall correctly (and wikipedia seems to back me up), it comes from creating firebreaks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firebreak ) via controlled burns.