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How funny...but well control companies do this all the time...when you have a blowout many times especially in the events of high H2S we light the H2S, just have to. But then again I work for a well control company and you don't. Unfortunately well control isn't as lucrative as it was in the 70s...many companies have proper BOPs, and contingency plans in place and many blowouts are prevented above the surface, it s the subsurface blowouts that are the real pains to deal with. BUT when they do occur, it is not uncommon to light the H2S especially if the well is in or near high population areas...H2S kills people where as a big shiny fire blowing up out of the earth is just a noisy nuisance.

Hell one time we had a blowout we had to ignite and then we had to have "approved" passage to the site with the heavy equipment because "endangered turtles" lived in the area. Can't have a bulldozer run over a turtle when you are putting out a fire.

On the Padre Islands in Texas, you have to have "turtle walkers" escort the oil field trucks to location, but no such restriction applies to the 600,000 Spring Breakers with their SUVs.

Talk about selective enforcement...

BTW: You've got a neat job!

I hired out to a firefighting company one time, but I went back overseas as a drilling consultant instead.
In those days, you couldn't make any money unless you were actually fighting a fire.