OilWellFirefighters1

OilWellFirefighters
LucasMattoon
RodneyVandecasteele
EMS/Firescience
May6,2014

OilWellFirefighters2
Introduction
IwasoriginallythinkingaboutdoingthispaperonfirefightersonOcean/OffshoreOilRigsandCanadian
OilSands,butwhiledoingmyresearchIdiscoveredthatneitherofthesetypesofpetroleumdrilling
haveactualfirefightersthatareexclusivelyhiredassuch.Thispaperwillgiveyouagoodoverviewof
thedifferenttypesofoilwellfirefightingandmedicalpersonnel..Itwillcoverocean/offshoreoilwells
andCanadianoilsands.Itwillgooverthedifferentcredentialsthatareneededtobecomeamedical
personnelinbothofthesedifferentareasaswellasfirefightingtechniques.
Ocean/OffshoreOilWellFirefighters
ThefirstthingtoknowaboutOcean/OffshoreOilRigsisthateveryoneonarigistrainedinfirefighting
andemergencyevacuationprocedures.Thisincludesanyandallvisitors,priortogettingonthe
transporthelicoptergoingtotherig.Theremaybeafireteambuttheyarealsoemployedinother
areasontherigonadailybasis.Rigfiresgenerallyoccurwhenpetroleumdrillinghitsalargepocketof
gas.Thisisoftenhardtopredictthereforemakingitimperativethatfirepersonnelbereadyatalltimes.
Therigpersonnelneedtobeingoodphysicalconditionasheavylifting,climbingstairs,scaffolding,
derricksandtowersareoftenrequired.Excellentcommunicationskills,inbothwrittenandverbal
formatsareneededtocommunicatewithallstaffontherig.Theyneedtobeselfdisciplinedwitha
positiveattitude,mentalalertnessandcouragetohandlethisjob.Theyalsoneedtohavegood
judgementandbeabletoreactquicklyanddecisivelyinemergencies.Manyoftheoilrigpersonnelare
trainedinemergencyresponse,certifiedparamedicsorlearntheirskillinthemilitary(Affeld,2014).
CanadianOilSandsFirefighters
CanadianOilSandspersonnelworkinmassivesandfieldswheretheyaredrillingforoil.Aswiththe
rigs,theyallseemtobetrainedinfirefightingmethodsandprocedures,thoughIdidfindanemployment

OilWellFirefighters3
adthatwaspostingforaFirefighter/MedicalPersonnel.Onemainpointregardingthisjobthatallthe
sitesseemtoagreeonisthatthisisaveryphysicallydemandingjobthatdoesntleavemuchtimefor
familyorsocializing,butifyoulikemoneyandarewillingtoworkyoucancertainlysetyourselfupwith
anicebankaccount.
TypicalJobDuties
Bothofthesetypeshaveverysimilarjobdescriptions.Thoughhowtheygoaboutfightingthefiresare
vastlydifferent.Onoffshorerigsitisnotnecessarilytheobjecttoputthefireout.Oftenitisallowedto
burnasasafetyprecautionasdrillingproduceslargeamountsofgasthatthefirecanusuallyburnoff.
Theproblemisnotsomuchthefireasitisthecopiousamountsofoilandgasbeingreleasedintothe
environment.Whenthisflowisneededtobestoppedtheyusuallydothisinoneoftwoways.One,
theyputonanewvalve,closethevalveandtheoilandgasstop,thereby,puttingoutthefire.Two,if
thefirstoptionisntviable,drillingareliefwellagooddistancefromthefireisthenextoption.By
pumpinginmudofagooddensityyoustoptheflowofgasandoilandthefiregoesout.Thebiggest
problemisremovingtheburntrig,requiringfirefighters,water/foamandheavyequipment.Sometimes
theylowerapipeontothewellheadtoredirectthefireawayfromthefirefightersworkingcloseby.
Thisallneedstobeattendedtoveryquicklyasyoudontwanttolosetherigwithmenstillonit.The
Canadianoilsandsareextinguishedinaverydifferentway.FromthesightsthatIvisited,theydidnt
expresswhetherornotyouwouldjustletasandfieldfireburn.Iwasveryinterestedtolearnthat
firefightersattackflameswith3,000poundextinguishersthatspraydrypotassiumbicarbonatepowder
(knownasPurpleK)atarateof200poundsasecond.Then,usingsteadystreamsofwaterin
conjunctionwiththedrychemicalextinguishers,theyputouttheflames.Ifoilhaspooledontheground,
firefightersmaysprayitwithfoamthatbreakstheoildownatthemolecularlevel.Oncethefireisout,

OilWellFirefighters4
firefightersspraythesurroundingareawithwater,carefullyavoidingthestillflowingoilgeyser.Some
usejetengineswithwaternozzlesattachedontrucksortankstoputoutthefire.Thegreatest
challengesposedbythesefiresistheremovalofthedebrisfromaroundthewellheads.Fromtheview
ofbothtypesofpetroleumdrillingtheconsensusseemstobethatthemedicalpersonnelhelptofight
fireswhentheyoccurandattendtoanyandallmedicalservicesontheirrigorsitewhennotfighting
fires.Inshortyouprettymuchpraythatnothingbadhappensandinbetweenmanycomplainabout
gettingboredandrustyfromnonuseofalloftheirmedicalskills.
JobSalaries
Thejobsalariesoneithertherigsorsandfieldsareveryunclear.Ihaveseensightsforoffshorerigsto
befrom$100,000to$200,000peryear.Rigworkisusually12monthsayearwithschedulesthatare
usually1weekonand1weekoff.Canadianoilsandsontheotherhandareusuallyverylongdaysfor
about$50andhourbutonlyfor6monthsoutoftheyear.Onejobpostingpromised6figuresin6
months.
CollegeandSchoolingRequirements
FortheoffshorerigsIfoundthatmostrequireaBachelorsormastersinPetroleumEngineering,
PetroleumProduction,IndustrialRobotics,MechanicalEngineering,orFireSuppression.Another
mandatoryfieldoftrainingwouldbeBasicSurvivalTraining(BST).Itisafivedaycoursedesignedto
givetraineestheskillstoreacteffectivelyinanoffshoreemergencysituation.Topicscoveredinclude
firefightingbasics,installationevacuation,helicoptersafetyandescapeprocedures,rescue,and
useofpersonalprotectiveequipment.Thecourseinvolveslecturesinaclassroomsettingaswellas
practicalexercisessuchasaseadaywheretraineesparticipateinanevacuationatseausing

OilWellFirefighters5
lifesavingequipment.(AtlanticCanadasOffshoreOilandGasIndustry.(2012,January1),Pg.2).I
wasreadingonediscussionthreadthatsaidtheonlyBSTclassthatiscurrentlycertifiedtoteachthis
skillininNewfoundland.ThoughsomediscussionthreadsthatIreadwouldsuggestthatnoexperience
isnecessaryIwouldfindthattoaveryfoolishrisk.Ithinkthattheserequirementsjustmakesensefora
saferigwithpeoplewhoareknowledgeableofallaspectsofthematerialstheyareworkingwith.
IntheCanadianoilsandsthereseemstobeashortageinpersonnelandevenprospectiveemployees.
Theyalsoseemtoalludetothefactthattheywilldoonthejobtraining.Ithasevenbeensuggested
thattheydontdocriminalbackgroundchecks.AsIstatedabove,Ididfindanadvertisementfora
reputablecompanywhowaslookingforanextensiveamountoftraining.Theyarelookingforsomeone
with5+yearsofrelatedindustryexperiencewithEMTcertificationandAFFAregistration,NFPA
1001FireFighterLevel1,NFPA1003AirportFirefighter,NFPA1001FireFighterLevel2,NFPA
1002ApparatusOperatororwillingtotrain,NFPA1035PublicEducatorLevel1,preferedasset,
NFPA472TechnicianLevel,preferedasset,ValidAlbertaDriversLicenseclass3/4withairbrake
endorsementandfamiliaritywiththeMicrosoftOfficesuite.Theyevendescribedthedesired
temperamenttobeabletomaintainacalm,clearandconciseframeofmindinstressfulsituations.
OutlookofCareer
Ibelievethatthereisalwaysgoingtobeaneedformedicalpersonnelandworkerswithfirefightingskills
onoilrigsandinoilsandfieldsaswearealwaystryingtodiscovernewsuppliesofpetroleumfuels
closertotheU.S.Itdoespaygoodmoneybuttheworkhoursandworkingconditionsarenotvery
desirabletopeopleinthemedicalorfirefightingfieldsingeneral.Mostofthesejobsareeitherveryfar
southoffthecoastoftheUnitedStatesorverynorthasinAlbertaCanada.Ifyouhavetheskills,the
heartandcouragetoliveintheseveryisolatedareasfordaysorevenweeksatatime,wheredanger

OilWellFirefighters6
couldstrikeintheformoffireatanygiventime,withnofamilytogohometoonanightlybasis,and
lovetomakelotsofmoneyandpossiblyretirebeforetheageof50,thisjustmightbethejobforyou.

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WorksCited
Affeld,M.(2011,September19).OilWellFirefighterSalary.eHow.RetrievedMay6,2014, from
http://www.ehow.com/info_12075695_oilwellfirefightersalary.html
FireFighterHorizonOilSandsJobs,Calgary,EdmontonorFtMcMurray,Alberta|SkilledTrade
Jobs|OilandNaturalGasMiningJobs.(2010,January1).FireFighterHorizonOil
SandsJobs,Calgary,EdmontonorFtMcMurray,Alberta|SkilledTradeJobs|Oiland
NaturalGasMiningJobs.RetrievedMay6,2014,from
http://www.skilledworkers.com/firefighterhorizonoilsandsjobs70115.html
Affeld,M.(2011,September20).AverageSalaryofOilWellFirefighters.eHow.RetrievedMay6,
2014,fromhttp://www.ehow.com/info_12081122_averagesalaryoilwellfirefighters.html
Turner,J.(2014,January1).Howdoyouextinguishanoilwellfire?.SlateMagazine.Retrieved
May6,2014,from
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2003/03/how_do_you_extinguish_an_oilwell
_fire.html
SAFETYTRAININGinAtlanticCanadasOffshoreOilandGasIndustry.(2012,January1)..
RetrievedMay6,2014,fromhttp://www.capp.ca/getdoc.aspx?DocID=215473