Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!att!cbnews!cbnews!military
From: rog@zombie.dtc.hp.com (Roger Haaheim)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: using AFMs to exginguish oil fires
Message-ID: <1991Mar12.231804.29552@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 12 Mar 91 23:18:04 GMT
References: <1991Mar1.052316.28686@cbnews.att.com>
Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (william.b.thacker)
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From: rog@zombie.dtc.hp.com (Roger Haaheim)

Just heard an interesting session on NPR.  One of Red Adair's
firefighters was on talking about the problems of putting out
oil fires.  He said putting out the fire is the easy part;
takes about $200 worth of dynamite set off within a foot or
to of a critical location in the gusher.  The big problem is
the quantity of oil they have to deal with between putting out
the fire and capping off (shutting off) the flow of oil.  He
said the most dangerous thing about oil fires is working in the
lake of oil that forms after the fire is out.  

He also said that once they get the fire out and look at the
capping job, they sometimes have to reignite the fire while they
make the equipment necessary to cap the well.  

If all the fires were put out immediately, it would still take 
them almost as long to get all the wells capped, and the 
resulting environmental damage from all the oil on the ground
would be disastrous.

Fascinating interview.