PAUL N. "RED" ADAIR

Red Adair became for many the symbol of the "can do" attitude of the offshore industry. He worked 14 years with Myron Kinley, the pioneer in oilwell fire and blow-out control, before starting his own world-renowned company. Taking his innovative and practical ideas to sea, Adair led the way to the use of semi- submersible firefighting equipment. He gained international recognition for his work in controlling a series of spectacular offshore blowouts, including the CATCO fire in the Gulf of Mexico in the 1950s, the IXTOC blowout in Mexico's Bay of Campeche in 1979 and the Piper Alpha disaster in the North Sea in 1988, and in taming the fires of Kuwait following the Gulf War in 1991.