RED ADAIR
Name: Paul Neal Adair
Born: 18 June 1915
Died: 7 August 2004
Paul Neal "Red" Adair (June 18, 1915 - August 7, 2004) was a renowned
American oil field firefighter. He became world famous as an innovator in the
highly specialized and extremely hazardous profession of extinguishing and
capping blazing, erupting oil wells, both land-based and offshore.
Adair was born in Houston, Texas, and attended Reagan High School. He began
fighting oil well fires after returning from serving in a bomb disposal unit
during World War II. Red started his career working for the MM Kinley Company,
the "original" blowout/oil firefighting pioneer. He founded Red Adair Co., Inc.,
in 1959, and over his long career battled more than 2,000 land and offshore oil
well, natural gas well, and similar spectacular fires. Red Adair gained global
fame in 1962, when he tackled a fire at a gas field in the Sahara nicknamed the
Devil's Cigarette Lighter, a 450-foot (137 m) pillar of flame. In 1977, he and
his crew (incl. Asger "Boots" Hansen) contributed in mending the biggest oil
well blowout ever (by Jan 2008) to have occurred in the North Sea (and the 2nd
largest offshore blowout worldwide, in terms of volume of crude oil spilled),
more specifically at the Phillips Petroleum Company (now Phillips Petroleum
Conoco) operated Ekofisk Bravo platform, located in the Norwegian sector. In
1988, he helped put out the UK sector Piper Alpha oil platform fire. At age 75,
Adair took part in extinguishing the oil well fires in Kuwait set by retreating
Iraqi troops after the Gulf War in 1991. In 1978, Adair's top lieutenants Asger
"Boots" Hansen and Ed "Coots" Matthews left to found competitor Boots & Coots
International Well Control, Inc.
Red Adair retired in 1993, and sold his company The Red Adair Company to Global
Industries. His top employees (Brian Krause, Raymond Henry, Rich Hatteberg)
left in 1994 and formed their own company, International Well Control (IWC). In
1997, IWC purchased the remnants of Boots and Coots and the company is now Boots
& Coots/IWC.
The 1968 John Wayne movie Hellfighters was based upon the feats of Adair during
the 1962 Sahara Desert fire.
The History Channel's Modern Marvels episode on "Oil Well Firefighting" was one
of Adair's last interviews prior to his 2004 death. The episode aired after
Adair's death and was dedicated in his memory.
Name: Paul Neal Adair
Born: 18 June 1915
Died: 7 August 2004
Paul Neal "Red" Adair (June 18, 1915 - August 7, 2004) was a renowned
American oil field firefighter. He became world famous as an innovator in the
highly specialized and extremely hazardous profession of extinguishing and
capping blazing, erupting oil wells, both land-based and offshore.
Adair was born in Houston, Texas, and attended Reagan High School. He began
fighting oil well fires after returning from serving in a bomb disposal unit
during World War II. Red started his career working for the MM Kinley Company,
the "original" blowout/oil firefighting pioneer. He founded Red Adair Co., Inc.,
in 1959, and over his long career battled more than 2,000 land and offshore oil
well, natural gas well, and similar spectacular fires. Red Adair gained global
fame in 1962, when he tackled a fire at a gas field in the Sahara nicknamed the
Devil's Cigarette Lighter, a 450-foot (137 m) pillar of flame. In 1977, he and
his crew (incl. Asger "Boots" Hansen) contributed in mending the biggest oil
well blowout ever (by Jan 2008) to have occurred in the North Sea (and the 2nd
largest offshore blowout worldwide, in terms of volume of crude oil spilled),
more specifically at the Phillips Petroleum Company (now Phillips Petroleum
Conoco) operated Ekofisk Bravo platform, located in the Norwegian sector. In
1988, he helped put out the UK sector Piper Alpha oil platform fire. At age 75,
Adair took part in extinguishing the oil well fires in Kuwait set by retreating
Iraqi troops after the Gulf War in 1991. In 1978, Adair's top lieutenants Asger
"Boots" Hansen and Ed "Coots" Matthews left to found competitor Boots & Coots
International Well Control, Inc.
Red Adair retired in 1993, and sold his company The Red Adair Company to Global
Industries. His top employees (Brian Krause, Raymond Henry, Rich Hatteberg)
left in 1994 and formed their own company, International Well Control (IWC). In
1997, IWC purchased the remnants of Boots and Coots and the company is now Boots
& Coots/IWC.
The 1968 John Wayne movie Hellfighters was based upon the feats of Adair during
the 1962 Sahara Desert fire.
The History Channel's Modern Marvels episode on "Oil Well Firefighting" was one
of Adair's last interviews prior to his 2004 death. The episode aired after
Adair's death and was dedicated in his memory.