Fireman in the Hole

Or

Extinguished

Red Adair, 89, the world’s most famous firefighter, has died at the age of 89. Known for his exploits on Texas oil fields, Adair’s life was the subject of a mawkish and gushing 1968 film starring America’s greatest actor, John Wayne, Hellfighters. In 1991, he capped hundreds of oil fires in Kuwait that were set by the Iraqi army. An operation expected to take 3 to 5 years was completed in 9 months, saving millions of barrels of oil for greedy American companies and stopping an air pollution disaster. 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. In hundreds of well fires around the world, none of Adair’s employees ever suffered a serious injury, dramatic proof that oil's well that ends well.