Are there any instances when fighting fire with fire is effective?

Answer 1

There are cases:
When forest fires are burning out of control, sometimes another fire is started around or in the path of the main blaze, and all the wood and fuel is burned up so that when the UNcontrolled fire reaches it, there is nothing there to burn and it goes out.

(I've also seen cases where a controled explosion is used to put out an oil fire on a rig where the oil is spewing out - like in Iraq. The explosion forces so much air [or maybe uses up so much air] that it just blows out the fire like a candle).

Answer 2

By definition the answer is yes. In extreme fires (think large scale bush fires) fire fighters will move beyond the fire line, dig a trench and start a "back fire" which then moves into the advancing fire which is then starved of fuel and extinguished.
Hey presto! Fire is out because one has fought fire with fire.

Answer 3

When fighting forest fires, they use a controlled burn to rid the fire of more fuel. Thus fighting a fire with fire.

Answer 4

This is the ONLY way man can put out a forest fire.

Answer 5

Yes,When you fight a forest fire you burn in front to cause a fire break.This will stop the fire spreading as you have already burnt it.