The three month training school in 1977 finished with a 24 hour logging session in the test wells at BTC. Preparation time immediately beforehand of the equipment not counted…
I finished up my session with my crew and headed back to the flat to get some badly needed shut eye.
The rancid smell of burnt plastic met me as I started up the stairs to the shared second floor flat. The front door was broken open and the smell worse despite noticing the windows were thrown wide open.
Asmid, an Indian fellow trainee, met me at the door.
“Sorry John, sorry John”
“Are you OK, what happened?”
“Put the chip pan on the gas hob to make some chips before crashing out – fell asleep in my room – next thing I know bloody firemen burst in and were putting out the flames.”
The decor of the kitchen I had never previously noticed, but it certainly wasn’t the 100% black look which greeted me now.
“Bloody hell Asmid, you nearly burnt the whole place down.”
It crossed my mind that if I had finished logging before Asmid I would have been sleeping while he played chef. Would the firemen have turned up in time? I didn’t, they did, so it was all hypothetical. Stop hurting your brain John.
My nauseating tiredness was overcoming me.
I felt it was now safe, drama over – can be dealt with later. Closing my bedroom door I stripped off my ripe overalls lay down and instantly fell asleep.
Asmid can credit his survival to a Scottish Firemans´ Strike.
The Fire Station was across the road from our block of flats. The firemen were lazing around their brazier, placards put aside – not many passing cars or folk to lobby in this quiet suburb of Bathgate.
Noticing the smoke billowing out of our flat window their sense of duty kicked in and the fire was quashed before it could spread.
Asmid´s aspirations to become an oil field logging engineer were quashed too.
He was fired.
After all, the endurance test of working over 24 hours non stop was to be completed accurately, on time and safely.
Once out on the North Sea oil rigs it was only going to get tougher.
John,
Your Stories are the ‘real thing’ and well written. I’ve really enjoyed them. Please write your book!
Mike