landed on the remaining runway very safely after he'd copped a fire
warning just after lift off.
Given enough runway, of course that is an option.
However,
(a) the captain presumably had some explaining to do - I vaguely recall the incident but not the investigation.
(b) had the outcome been a mishap, the consequence might have been far more difficult for the captain.
While acknowledging that SOPs don't cover all situations and captain's prerogative, routine risk management generally dictates SOP compliance as being the reasonable way to go.