But for all the danger in Kuwait's burning oil fields 12 years ago, Roles fears the fires could be bigger, more numerous and far more risky if a cornered and desperate Saddam Hussein turns the torch on Iraq's oil fields, as his retreating troops did in Kuwait, to disrupt the world's oil markets.
``We expect him to cause considerable more damage,'' said Roles, president of operations for Cudd Pressure Control, an Oklahoma company preparing for war from an office on a the American prairie.
The Department of Defense has already asked the company for a plan detailing the number of men and equipment it could send to fight fires in Iraq, Roles said.
Two other U.S. firms that spent months bringing Kuwait's well fires under control, Wild Well Control and Boots & Coots International Well Control in Texas, also say they could be ready if needed.
Iraqis damaged or set fire to 788 oil wells in Kuwait _ nearly all of them _ in the closing days of the 1991 Gulf War. Iraq is believed to have almost twice that number, about 1,500, and some estimates run as high as 2,500, Roles said.
The firefighters doubt all the wells would be burned, but the fires could be bigger in Iraq because there is more oil to feed the flames: Kuwait's wells pumped an average 20,000 to 40,000 barrels per day; some Iraqi wells are capable of producing 60,000 to 80,000 barrels, said Bill Mahler, marketing manager at Wild Well Control.
Iraq's mountainous terrain and wetlands could make the oil far more difficult to control than the sand berms used in Kuwait's desert, as well. Even if the wells aren't set on fire, gushing oil could threaten water supplies.
``After seeing the first mess they made, there's no doubt in my mind they've got the ability to make a big or bigger mess in their own backyard,'' said Jerry Winchester, Boots & Coots president and chief operating officer.
Then there's simply Iraq's size _ ``the difference between Houston and all of Texas,'' Mahler said _ hampering crews' ability to quickly reach wells.
In Kuwait, most of the damage came at the well heads. But Roles believes Iraq could set explosives deeper this time, damaging well casings. Fires that took 2 1/2 days to extinguish in Kuwait could take months, Roles said.
``The overall project could run years longer,'' Roles said.
The companies aren't even sure where they would find enough water to fight the flames.
In Kuwait, water was pumped to the burning wells from the Persian Gulf by reversing the flow in the oil pipelines. But with the sale of Iraqi oil critical to that country's economic recovery, the pipelines there might be needed to keep oil flowing to the market, Mahler said.
Water from the Euphrates River is a possibility, but Mahler said ``it's not going to be as readily available as in Kuwait.''
And they don't expect the kind of help they received in Kuwait from the national oil company, which provided equipment and prepared sites ahead of the firefighters.
Security is one of their biggest worries.
Booby traps, biological and chemical weapons and the potential that some wells hold hydrogen sulfide, a deadly byproduct of oil production, are all dangers Roles believes his men could face.
But Robert Ebel, director of energy programs for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he isn't convinced Iraqi oil workers would follow any orders to blow up oil wells if they knew Saddam was about to be toppled.
``It's one thing to blow up the wells of another country,'' Ebel said. ``It's another thing to blow up your own wells.''
Even as they map out the dangers from their small office outside Elk City, Roles and his men can't hide their sense of excitement.
They are a brotherhood of toughness, rush-seekers who don't shy from fires as hot as 2,500 degrees. When Hollywood portrayed the legendary well controller Red Adair in the movie ``Hellfighters,'' it chose John Wayne.
``I hope it doesn't come down to something that tragic,'' said Gabe Gibson, whose first trip out of the country was to the blazing oil fields of Kuwait. ``If it was to happen, though, I'll definitely accept the challenge.''
Technology and training are making well fires rare these days. Of the 40 to 80 blowouts that take Cudd crews all over the world each year, only about 10 percent involve fires.
To practice, they ignite one of Cudd's Oklahoma wells, and a roiling tornado of orange and black dances on the endless prairie sky. From behind small metal barriers that look like mini sheds, they attack the flames with powerful streams of water.
Roles' gaze locks on the fire.
None of them wants another disaster like Kuwait, but Roles knows putting out all those fires was a firefighter's dream.
``I couldn't wait to get there,'' he said.
