I guess I can't really claim to be the true originator of that term then. But it still makes a good story...
BTW, here are a couple of rule-base references of firing an event, in:
1) http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.81.... -- "An event can fire, i.e. it is active, ..." -- Representing procedural knowledge in expert systems: An application to process control (1985).
2) http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.12.... -- "The object manager identifies fireable events, and fires the rules of each of the participants of the event." -- Using Objects to Implement Office Procedures (1983).
I guess I can't really claim to be the true originator of that term then. But it still makes a good story...