- Born
- Died
- Birth namePaul Neal Adair
- Nicknames
- Hellfighter
- Red
- Height5′ 6″ (1.68 m)
- 'Red' Adair was born on June 18, 1915 in Houston, Texas, USA. He is known for Hellfighters (1968), Carson's Comedy Classics (1983) and Bilder, die die Welt bewegten - Peter von Zahn berichtet (1980). He was married to Kemmie Lou Wheeler. He died on August 7, 2004 in Houston, Texas, USA.
- SpouseKemmie Lou Wheeler(December 3, 1939 - August 7, 2004) (his death, 2 children)
- ChildrenJames Paul AdairRobyn Lucille Adair
- Red overalls
- His exploits inspired the film "The Hellfighters," in which he was portrayed by 'John Wayne'.
- Was hired to put out burning oil wells in Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm). Because of the intensity of the fires, they had to be put out with modified army tanks fitted with jet engines. The tanks were brought next to the flames and then "blew out" the flames with the jet engines.
- Specialized in extinguishing oil-well fires.
- His fire fighting team was first among 27 from sixteen countries. They capped 732 Kuwati oil wells during the Persian Gulf war.
- Is credited with battling more than 2000 land and offshore oil well fires and was instrumental in capping Kuwaiti oil wells set ablaze by Iraqi soldiers. His death-defying feats included battling the July 1988 explosion of the Piper Alpha platform that killed 167 men in the stormy North Sea off the coast of Scotland.
- That's one of the best honors in the world: To have The Duke [John Wayne] play you in a movie.
- I've done made a deal with the devil. He said he's going to give me an air-conditioned place when I go down there, if I go there, so I won't put all the fires out.
- It scares you: all the noise, the rattling, the shaking. 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.
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