REVIEW Fire in the Night: 20 Years Since the Piper Alpha Disaster
The fire was visible 70 miles away as a distant flame on the horizon. The heat was so intense that a helicopter could only circle at a perimeter of one mile. Flying at a height of 200 feet, the air crew saw that the flames extended high above the rotor blades.In the water surrounding the inferno, mens heads could be seen bobbing as their yellow hard hats melted with the heat. At the center stood the Piper Alpha oil platform, once the worlds single largest oil producer. On July 6, 1988, its final day, it was ablaze with 226 men on board. Only 61 would survive. Adapted as an award winning BBC documentary for the 25th anniversary of the disaster, Fire in the Nighttells the devastating story of that summer evening. Fire in the Night: 20 Years Since the Piper Alpha Disaster
This is a well written account of what happened on that fateful night. Most people who live in Aberdeen (including myself) knew someone or of someone who suffered because of the negligence of all companies involved. Many employees did not have survival or safety training or certificates and none of the companies were charged. No amount of compensation can compensate for the horrors experienced that night or bring back a loved one. 1509868224 A stunning piece of investigative journalism on one of the UKs worst disasters. Balancing technical information and the individual stories of survivors and victims, this is a truly moving book and the perfect companion to the documentary based on it. Have the lessons about cost saving over safety been learnt?? See deep water horizon and Grenfell Tower for your answer. 1509868224 A very well researched book, I would never read this kind of book as fiction, the impact is much greater when you know it really happened. it brought the people alive in our minds who were there when it happened, by going into their stories in detail. it's what we tend to forget with any disaster which does not affect us; we only react to the numbers of people who died. but this book tells their stories. 1509868224 Engrossing, but a true storey of sheer hell. How anybody survived this nightmare is a miracle. But, as nearly always the case, the hierarchy must take the blame for the systems that led to this disaster. If anything can be said it led to better safety systems , but only after men perished. Its still a dangerous industry, where profits unfortunately take president in the drive to make as much profit as possible. RIP all who perished. 1509868224 Pleased with my purchase, not a read for everyone, arrived as described. Good value for money.. 1509868224
