# OIL WELL FIRE FIGHTER RED ADAIR PROMOTIONAL FILM "DEVIL'S CIGARETTE LIGHTER" 51414

The Red Adair Co., Inc. presents “The Devil’s Cigarette Lighter.” This circa 1962 color film features the first person narration of famed oil well fire fighter Red Adair, who takes you step by step as he and his fire fighters (including Boots Hansen and Coots Mathews) extinguished the oil well fire that put the Red Adair Company on the map and made him a celebrity. The natural gas well fire was nicknamed “The Devil’s Cigarette Lighter. The fire, in the Sahara Desert of Algeria, ignited in 1961 when a pipe ruptured on a Phillips Petroleum Company-owned well. The blowout and fire were estimated to have consumed enough gas to supply Paris for three months. After burning almost six months, the fire was extinguished by Adair by using explosives to deprive the flame of oxygen. The incident became the basis of the film Hellfighter starring John Wayne in the role of Adair. The film opens with scenes from the Sahara and the fire (mark 01:37 ), as Adair explains how he and his crews had to dig for water to first try to extinguish the blaze. His calm and reassuring drawl covers each step of the operation as he is occasionally asked questioned about the project. At mark 08:17 streams of water are shown cooling the area before work crews moved in, and at mark 11:30 viewers get a close-up look of the flames. After attacking the base of the fire with water, Adair is shown at mark 14:00 preparing drums which will hold the explosives that eventually be used to extinguish the blaze. He…

- Kind: Film
- Genres: Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/51414TheDevilsCigaretteLighter)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/51414TheDevilsCigaretteLighter?play=1)