The Kuwaiti Oil Fires - Chapter 1 - Red Adair and the Oil Well Hellfires

Sep 29, 2026

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The Kuwaiti Oil Fires recounts how Red Adair, a world-class oil field firefighter, confronts a catastrophic blaze across Kuwait. As 600 oil wells burn after the Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein sets fire during retreat, thick black smoke and destroyed wells threaten far beyond the desert. The narrative explains how specialists from multiple countries unite, combining decades of oil-fire expertise with military know-how. It also highlights dangerous conditions: mines, explosive hazards, and oil lakes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages56

Reading Time1 h 26 min

AccessFree to download

Chapter 1

Red Adair’s Background and the Scale of the Fires

The Iraqi Army’s Motive and the Aftermath

International “Hellfighters” and the Rescue Effort

Hazards: Mines, Explosive Land, and Oil Lakes

☰6Artesian Press THE KUWAITIOILFIRES5100SKIP PRESS 、 TER THE KUWAITIOIL FIRES SKIP PRESS WEST CENTRAL MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARYP.O.BOX730HARTFORD,SD 57033-0730 AArtesian Press P.O.Box 355 Buena Park,CA 90621 Take Ten BooksDisaster Challenger1-58659-021-9Cassette1-58659-026-XThe Kuwaiti Oil Fires1-58659-024-3Cassette1-58659-029-4The Mount St.Helens Volcano1-58659-023-5Cassette1-58659-028-6The Nuclear Disaster at Chernobyl 1-58659-022-7Cassette1-58659-027-8The Last Flight of 0071-58659-025-1Cassette1-58659-030-8 Other Take Ten Themes: MysterySportsAdventureChillersThrillersRomanceHorrorFantasy 1 Project-Editor:Dwayne Epstein Assistant Editor:Molly MrazGraphic Design:Tony Amaro Cover photo courtesy of Kuwait Oil CompanyC2003 Artesian Press All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form without pernission in writing from thepublisher:Reproduction ofany part of this book,through photocopy,recording,or any electronic or mechanical retrieval system,without thewritten permission of the publisher is an infringement of copyright law. Www.artesianpress.com af:Artesian Press CoNTENTS Chapter 1…………………………5 Chapter 2…………………………13 Chapter 3…………………………21 Chapter 4…… ……30 ◆ ◆ Chapter 5… ……………37 …… Chapter 6………………………43 Bibliography…………………51 DISCARDED Siouxland Libraries Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2018 with funding fromKahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/kuwaitioilfires0000pres # Chapter 1 Red Adair had seen a lot of troublein his life,and he had handled it allvery well.He had been in the oilbusiness for a long time,since the dayswhen derricks—the tall stands holdingup the oil pipe—had been made ofwood.He came from Texas,wherelegend said that oil derricks were madeof wood,but oil men were carved ofsteel.This could have easily been saidof Red Adair,world-class oil fieldfirefighter. As he watched video shots taken overthe oil fields of Kuwait,Red could seesteel melt.It was a scene worse thananything he had ever seen. Sixhundred oil wells were blazing in the deserts of Kuwait. Setting the wells on fire was the lastevil act of the Iraqi army led bySaddam Hussein. The thick clouds ofblack smoke that hissed and heavedfrom the flames threatened the survivalof the entire Middle East environment,if not the world.Hussein's army hadblown up 732 oil wells as they leftKuwait.Hussein said his army startedthe fires to hide from American fighterjets under the black smoke. Luckily,all of the wells had not burstinto flame,but most of them had.Nowall that mattered was putting out thosefires.Looking at all the wells burningwas terrifying,a picture of hell itself.There were so many fires,it looked likea forest of steel trees,all burning.Itlooked like the devil's forest fire. A problem this big needed the bestminds in the oil fire business to solveit.A movie starring John Wayne hadbeen made about Red Adair's life, IRAQ Baghdad Jordan-Baghdad Highway Basra KUWAT Kuwait Ciry Persian Gulf LEGEND Oil Fires Saddam Hussein's army set fire to the oil wells inKuwait,then retreated to Iraq through Basra. called The Hellfighters.Now it washellfighters to the rescue.Boots &Coots and Wild Well Control,both fromHouston,Texas,joined Red Adair,Inc.,while from Canada came the SafetyBoss company. Eventually,groups of experts fromtwenty-seven different countriescombined their decades of experienceand the latest in military know-how toput out the fires. Normally,the only thing hellfightershad to worry about were the firesthemselves.In this situation,the blazeswere the results of a war,and many ofthe oil wells had highly explosive landmines around them.In addition,giantblack lakes of oil had formed aroundsome wells and on top of the mines. As helicopters carrying the expertshovered over the awful scene,theirthoughts were no doubt the same:thiswould be the most difficult job any ofthe hellfighters had eve

FAQs

Who is the central figure introduced in Chapter 1?

Chapter 1 introduces Red Adair, described as a world-class oil field firefighter who has handled major oil fire emergencies for a long time.

What caused the oil wells to ignite in Kuwait?

The chapter states that Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army set the fires as a last evil act, after blowing up hundreds of oil wells while leaving Kuwait.

Why was putting out the fires especially difficult?

Besides the flames, the story notes explosive landmines near many wells and large oil lakes formed around some wells, creating extreme danger for the firefighting teams.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Blitz