Francis Brannigan

Who was Francis Brannigan?

Francis L. Brannigan was a writer and teacher in the field of fire protection engineering. He died in his sleep at his home in Calverton, Maryland, United States, and was interred in Arlington National Cemetery. In his youth, he first enlisted and then was commissioned in the US Navy. While in the Navy, he was assigned to the Panama Canal Army-Navy-Pancanal lock project as chief of fire protection, and created a fire school there to train Navy crews in mass fire fighting tactics . Later, he served as Public Safety Liaison Officer for the US Atomic Energy Commission. As Professor and Director of the Fire Science program at Montgomery College, Rockville, Maryland, he designed a model Fire Science program. He was also a faculty member at the National Fire Academy and at the University of Maryland's Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute. Brannigan was elected a Fellow of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers.

Frank Brannigan was the author of Building Construction for the Fire Service which was in its third edition when he died. The fourth edition had been completed before his death and was published posthumously. Brannigan is primarily recognized for his efforts to increase firefighter safety through education on the dangers of building collapse.