Obtituaries
I. H. Case
I. Herbert Case, former publisher of Fire Engineering, died on March 11 after a long illness.
Case’s career is a typical Horatio Alger saga of American business history. He started as an office boy of February 10, 1911 with Fire Engineering when it was known as “Fire and Water Engineering.” Two years later he became assistant editor.
Eventually he became part owner with Fred Shepperd and Karl Mann of the CaseShepperd-Mann Publishing Corporation and was vice president-general manager for several years. In 1955, the C-S-M group of magazines was merged with the Reuben H. Donnelley Corporation as a department and Case became general manager.
His personal contacts with the fire service began in 1913 when he attended the International Association of Fire Engineers conference in New York City. He hadn’t missed a single IAFC conference from that date until his retirement in 1960.
The IAFC bestowed honorary life membership on him in 1927, primarily for his work on behalf of “The Fire Brigade,” a feature motion picture produced by MetroGoldwyn-Mayer with IAFC participation and support. For many years he served as director of public relations for the IAFC.
Chief Frank Briguglio
Frank P. Briguglio, 58, chief of the Prince George’s, Md., Fire Department, died on April 1 while vacationing in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Briguglio, who is credited with helping to patch up the long-standing differences between volunteer and professional fire fighters in the county, was named acting chief in May 1975 and chief four months later.
He reorganized the fire department administration, putting operational and support functions under separate commands. He made a point of visiting each of the county’s 46 fire stations to talk to fire fighters on duty. He also attended many meetings of volunteer organizations to discuss administrative details.
Briguglio started his career as a fire officer in the Fort Meade, Md., Fire Department. He was a member of the Capitol Heights Volunteer Fire Department and from 1945 to 1970 he also served part-time as director of the county’s fire communications center in Hyattsville. From 1970 until he was named chief, he supervised the department’s Bureau of Fire and Rescue Communications.
