Well since Inferno is basically also melee range, I figured it was also not really used and just taken because you are kinda expected to take the nuke as a blaster and/or for emergencies.
Based on the gameplay style other sets just have it easier to keep the distance with their secondary effects, like knockback, slow or longer ranges, whereas Fire just burns more damage and thus gets aggro faster than anybody else.
Short range attacks are not only usefull for Blappers, who charge into the enemy groups, but also for survival when enemies come running at you.
Most of those attacks hit hard and fast and Hot Feet slows the enemies. Since with Fire, you don't have much else to stop them, you should get rid of them as fast as possible.
Theme is always a valid reason of course and for me and my builds, preference is also more important than min maxing.
I also finished reading the other thread and I see now that apparantly there are strong opinions on whether a Blaster goes into melee range at all, regardless of the set.
So before I completly derail the topic, just one final thoutht:
Even for ranged characters I want to suggest the Fire Breath + Fireball Combo, because I feel like it is just too good to be ignored. Never use Fireball first though, always start with Fire Breath.