Let’s take a moment to honor a true American hero and a central figure in the aftermath of the first Gulf War, Red Adair, who passed away recently.
'Adair, who boasted that none of his employees ever suffered a serious injury fighting hundreds of dangerous well fires around the world, died Saturday of natural causes at a Houston hospital, his daughter, Robyn Adair, told The Associated Press.
'Adair revolutionized the science of snuffing and controlling wells spewing high-pressure jets of oil and gas, using explosives, water cannons, bulldozers, drilling mud and concrete.
‘’‘It scares you: all the noise, the rattling, the shaking,’’ Adair once said, describing a blowout. ‘‘But the look on everybody’s face when you’re finished and packing, it’s the best smile in the world; and there’s nobody hurt, and the well’s under control.’’
'His daring and his reputation for having never met a blowout he couldn’t cap earned him the nickname ‘‘Hellfighter.’’ That inspired the title of the 1968 Wayne movie based on his life, ‘‘The Hellfighters.’’
'Adair’s teams were among the first of 27 teams from 16 countries that spent eight months capping 732 Kuwaiti wells. Thanks in part to his expertise, an operation expected to last three to five years was completed in nine months, saving millions of barrels of oil and stopping an intercontinental air pollution disaster.