<P> After burning almost six months , the fire was extinguished by well fire expert Red Adair , who used explosives to deprive the flame of oxygen . The exploit made Adair a celebrity . Adair worked the fire with Asger `` Boots '' Hansen and Ed `` Coots '' Matthews , who later formed the Boots & Coots well control company . Preparations took five months while Adair 's team cleared wreckage from near the wellhead with shielded bulldozers , dug wells , and excavated three reservoirs for water supplies . On April 28 , 1962 , Adair used a modified bulldozer with a 66 - foot ( 20 m ) arm to move a metal drum containing a 550 - pound ( 250 kg ) nitroglycerin charge to the well . Adair , Matthews , Hansen and Charlie Tolar rode the rig , protected by a metal heat shield and water sprays , with Adair driving and the others on a shielded platform while medical teams and evacuation helicopters stood by . After positioning the explosives , the team ran to a trench about 150 feet ( 46 m ) from the well . The explosion extinguished the fire by displacing oxygen from the area of the ruptured well . Water from the reservoirs was used to flood the area for two days to cool the well . Drilling mud was pumped into the hole to control the flow of gas and the well was capped after four days of work . </P>
how long did it take to put out the fire nicknamed the devils cigarette lighter in algeria
almost six months