Dr Red. Thanks for responding. In answer to what seems like a terribly obvious point, in fact there are a fair number of people who set fires precisely because it is, ummm, 'counter productive', as you delicately put it. A high proportion of fire setters either die, or are seriously injured in the fires they have themselves set. It isnt always (as you might have guessed) the most rational activity in the first place.
True though, it seems intuitively unlikely, but I have come across some very unlikely scenarios not directly related to aviation, and really just wondered.