John Frame is an independent fire, explosion and emergency response consultant. His long career has involved assignments in every continent, every climate and culture – and for the vast majority of the world’s oil and gas companies. He found that working with the Russian fire authorities was to be one of his most challenging projects. Here he gives a very personal view of the conditions and difficulties faced by Russian responders who operate outside of the main cities. His observations were over a five-year period in the north, centre and south of the country, including two years when he was the de-facto fire protection consultant for an international consortium operating a gas stabilisation facility in eastern Siberia.