Paul N. 'Red' Adair. (Source: George Bush Presidential Library and Museum)

Adair, Paul N. "Red"

Published: March 28, 2007, 6:19 pm

Author: Cutler J. Cleveland

Topic Editor: Tom Lawrence

Topics:

Energy (main)

Energy People (main)

People (main)

Paul N. "Red" Adair (1915-2004) is an American firefighter who became famous for an uncanny ability to control spectacular oil well blowouts and fires. Adair was born in Houston, Texas. He never finished high school; he worked instead to help support his family. In 1938, after working at various odd jobs, Otis Pressure Control Company offered him a job. Seven years later, Adair served in the US army during World War II. After returning to his hometown, Adair began working for the M. M. Kinely Company, who specialized in oil well fires and blowouts. Adair eventually went on to start his own company, Red Air Company, Inc. which was the first company to extinguish both an underwater wild well, and a well on a floating vessel. Red Air Company was also the first to cap a U.S. well while on fire. Adair is also famous for his accomplishments during the Persian Gulf War with Iraq (1991). He and his teams extinguished 117 of the burning oil well fires ignited by Saddam Hussein's Iraqi troops retreating from Kuwait. The wells extinguished were located in the Ahmadi, Magwa and Burgan fields—the highest producing fields in Kuwait.

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