I was watching a program on the History Channel called “Real Heroes” and it was showing the life and career of Red Adair (June 18, 1915 – August 7, 2004) founder of Red Adair Company. It took me back to the Iraq war, when Sadamm’s Republicans guards while fleeing Kuwait set around 117 oil wells on fire. I still remember Red and his army of men all dressed in red and covered in oil, mud fighting day in and day put to control the blaze on CNN. Red Adair was called in stop the blaze whose smoke had eclipsed the sun. It was predicted that it will take around 5 years to control these oil wells. But Red Adair Company’s achieved this in 9 months. This article is dedicated to the great man and a real life hero Red Adair
Paul N. ’’Red’’ Adair was born June 18, 1915 in Houston. His father was blacksmith He quit high school to support the family. His first oil related job was when he was hired by Otis Pressure Control Company in 1938. Red continued to work at odd jobs in the oil patch until he was inducted into the United States Army in 1945. This exposure helped him in the future as Red served in the 139th Bomb Disposal Squadron through the end of World War II. And the exposure to the making and use of bombs helped him a lot in his future endeavors. He returned from war and went to work for Myron Kinley, the original pioneer of oil well fire and blowout control. Red continued to work for and with Mr. Kinley. He stayed with M. M. Kinley Company for fourteen long years. Red resigned and formed Red Adair Company, Inc. to control oil well fires and blowouts in 1959.
Among Red’s and Red Adair Company’s historic firsts were extinguishing and underwater wild well, a job on a floating vessel and the first U. S. well to be capped while on fire. Some celebrated fires extinguished by Red and his crew were the CATCO offshore fire in 1959, ’’The Devil’s Cigarette Lighter’’ in 1962 in the Sahara Desert, it took around 6 months to extinguish the ’’The Devil’s Cigarette Lighter”. The flames of ’’The Devil’s Cigarette Lighter” were so high that even it was visible from space, an astronaut from commented “ The flames are so high that even the devil from hell can light a cigarette from these flames”. Hence the title” ’’The Devil’s Cigarette Lighter” was given to this massive fire, in Angola.
The massive 1970 offshore blaze at Bay Marchand, Louisiana, the April 1977 Bravo offshore blowout in the North Sea, the IXTOC #1 blowout in the Gulf of Mexico in June 1979 (this operation hurt Red emotionally as this oil fire took heavy toll on the human life’s and seeing burned bodies from the oil fire took an emotional toll on Red Adair) and the Piper Alpha disaster in July 1988 are some of the achievements of Red Adair.
One of Red’s greatest tasks and accomplishments occurred in 1991 following the Gulf War with Iraq. Red and his team extinguished 117 of the burning oil well fires ignited by Sadamm Hussein’s Iraqi troops while retreating from Kuwait. These wells were located in the Ahmadi, Magwa and Burgan fields -- the highest producing fields in Kuwait. Although estimates of completion of the firefighting operation ranged from three to five years, this monumental task was completed in a record nine months by Red and his men.
John Wayne was so impressed by the life of Red Adair that he made a move of him “Hell fighters” starring John Wayne himself, Red himself was the Technical Advisor for the movie.
Red pioneered the development of modern-day effective Wild Well Control techniques and equipment and earned his reputation as ’’best in the business.’’ Red and other members of his firefighting team averaged controlling over 42 oil well fires and blowouts per year, inland and offshore, all over the world. Red and his men represent over a century of Wild Well Control and expertise, completing over 1, 000 jobs internationally.
The most famous quote of Red was ’’I’ve done made a deal with the devil. He said he’s going to give me an air-conditioned place when I go down there, if I go there, so I won’t put all the fires out.’’
In the end, in the word of the late great Red Adair ’’Retire? I don’t know what that word means. As long as a man is able to work and he’s productive out there and he feels good — keep at it. I’ve got too many of my friends that retired and went home and got on a rocking chair, and about a year and a half later, I’m always going to the cemetery.’’
I hope this review was able to shed some light on the life of the late great Red Adair.
Any comments and brick bats welcome
Contains Excerpts from the book Red Adair: An American Hero.