Exactly what power did the Ring of Fire give to Gandalf?

[CSteefel]

While re-reading LOTR yet again, I realize that I am hazy on what exactly the Ring of Fire did for Gandalf. Certainly, he uses fire effectively in several places, for example, the showdown with the wolves after the Fellowship's failed attempt on crossing the Misty Mountains. And there are the fireworks as well, but...

This also got me thinking that the comparisons in power between Gandalf and others have tended to rely on Gandalf's position within the hierarchy of Middle Earth (a Maia), but the Ring of Fire doesn't seem to be factored in here. Given that the Rings held by Elrond and Galadriel seem to secure entire regions (Rivendell and Lothlorien, respectively), one would think that the Ring of Fire is a substantial augmentation of Gandalf's power...