Paul
S. Quigg, fire-protection engineer who helped develop drywall screws, died at
age 80 in November. A Barrington, Ill., resident, he passed of liver cancer in the Hospice
of Northeastern Illinois in Woodstock.
Many of the fire-resistant construction systems Quigg helped design can be
found in high-rise buildings today.
As a fire-protection engineer, he helped create everything from drywall screws
to temporary dividers. He served on the ASTM and was appointed to the board of
the National Fire Academy
by the secretary of commerce in 1978.
In his 32 years of work at USG, Quigg published papers on structurally sound
and fire-resistant material. He spoke at international conferences.
He also helped develop screws for drywall, said Rex Selbe, his boss at USG.
Quigg and his colleagues were awarded five patents for fire-safety inventions,
said his daughter Mary.
In 1978, Juanita Kreps, the secretary of commerce under President Jimmy Carter,
appointed Mr. Quigg to the board of the National Fire Academy, which provides
training in fighting and preventing fires. He also was on several committees
for the American Society of Testing and Material, helping to develop standards
for the construction industry.
He was born in Freehold, N.J. He received a bachelor’s degree in civil
engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and did graduate work at Northwestern University, Pennsylvania
State University and the University
of Kentucky.
He is survived by his wife, Catherine Thiel; daughters Mary, Paula Drews and
Jeanne Adaniya; and five grandchildren.
Obituary
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