At 10.00 pm on 6^th July 1988 liquid gases, under high pressure, exploded in a fireball on the Piper Alpha oil production platform. All in its path were enveloped in super heated air and flame. The light from the explosion was seen by a diver working 50 feet below the surface; those onboard felt the violent vibration. Shrapnel from the explosion ruptured gas and crude oil pipelines that immediately fed the blaze. It also cut all electrical power and fire fighting water supplies on the platform. Within the space of two hours a two billion pound oil platform, “the most expensive real estate on the planet,” (p. 23) was destroyed and one hundred and sixty one men died. The blaze was visible from seventy miles away. Paint blistered on boats that tried to approach; rescue helicopters could not get closer than one mile.

Stephen McGinty, the author of Fire in the Night: The Piper Alpha Disaster, has drawn upon interviews with survivors, witness statements and official testimony from the Public Enquiry led by Lord Cullen. However, it is more than a painstaking, forensic account of the events surrounding that night. His account describes the heroism and fear, leadership and confusion, professionalism and complacency surrounding those on the platform. It is all part of the human story of those who survived as well as those who perished.

Piper Alpha was a multi-level labyrinth of gangways and staircases, modules and gantries, pipelines and tanks. His account, of battling through searing heat and acrid smoke as workers searched for an escape route, is detailed, emotional and harrowing. However, it is an account that would benefit from a diagram of the platform and key landmarks included in his account. Also, in his attempt to be comprehensive McGinty includes the names and responsibilities of many who were on the platform that night. This includes accounts of their conversations and reflections. However, they are so numerous there is a danger they become bewildering and detract from the main story. Sometimes less information can provide a clearer picture.

Fire in the Night: The Piper Alpha Disaster is a compelling book to read even though the content does not make it the most enjoyable. It does serve to illustrate that when we fail to follow procedures and cut corners it can be at a cost. Perhaps the final comment on the disaster should end with an extract from Lord Cullen’s damning report in which he describes:

“… a culture of complacency at Occidental where the monitoring of work was inadequate in an environment where mistakes proved lethal” (p. 259)

• Fire in the Night: The Piper Alpha Disaster (2008)
• By Stephen McGinty
• ISBN 9780230708068
• 290 pages

About Stephen McGinty

Stephen McGinty is an award-winning journalist with the Scotsman newspaper. He has worked with the Glasgow Herald and the Sunday Times. His other books include:

            This Turbulent Priest: The Life of Cardinal Winning (2003)

            Churchill’s Cigar 2007)

            Camp Z: the Secret Life of Rudolf Hess (2011)

Find out more about Professor Fred Lockwood, who is also a published author, at www.fredlockwood.co.uk.

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Diveheart is a US-based, nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization which aims to provide and support educational scuba diving programs that are open to any child, adult or veteran with a disability, with the hope of providing both physical and psychological therapeutic value to that person.

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