Fire in the Night: The Piper Alpha Disaster
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.52 (629 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0330471937 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-07-08 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
About the AuthorStephen McGinty is the author of Churchill's Cigar and This Turbulent Priest: The Life of Cardinal Thomas Winning.
Fire in the Night tells, for the first time and in gripping detail, the devastating story of that summer evening. In the water surrounding the inferno, men's heads could be seen bobbing like apples as their yellow hard hats melted with the heat. Combining interviews with survivors, witness statements, and transcripts from the official enquiry into the disaster, this is the moving and vivid tale of what happened on that fateful night inside an oil rig inferno.. The fire was visible seventy miles away as a distant, flickering flame on the horizon. At the center stood, at least for now, the Piper Alpha oil platform, 110 miles northeast of Aberdeen, once the world's single largest oil producer. On July 6, 1988, its final day, it was ablaze with 226 men onboard. The heat generated was so intense that a helicopter could only circle at a perimeter of one mile. Only sixty-one would survive. On the surface a converted fishing trawler inched as close as possible, but the paint on the vessel's hull blistered and burnt, and the rope handrails began to smoke. Flying at a height of 200 feet, the air crew saw that the tongues of flame extended high above the rotor blades
Stephen McGinty is the author of Churchill's Cigar and This Turbulent Priest: The Life of Cardinal Thomas Winning.
"A must read for anyone that works offshore" according to JOHN MUSSON. This is the story of the worst offshore disaster. I work offshore. During numerous safety training and survival training classes; the trainer would refer to the Piper Alpha. "This is why there are fully enclosed lifeboats at opposite ends of the platform". "This is why the control rooms, living quarters, and main lifeboat stat. too much of a bad thing MirajaniHiggins This account of the fire is almost too complete. It overwhelms with minutiae but lacks a few things that could have helped, like an illustration of the places described in the narrative. It was a gripping story but bogged down at times with unnecessary details.. "A must read" according to Nathan A. Milne. A must read for anyone connected with offshore life. The reality of the dangers faced everyday and taken for granted by those on the beach. Hopefully these men and woman did not die in vain and their tragedy will save life's in the future.