Following the San Francisco earthquake and fire in 1906 , many wealthy families abandoned the city , some never to return ; Brisac chose to stay . Working from the basement of their damaged office building , he and others at LLG began processing insurance claims within days of the fire being put out . The Mayor of San Francisco had declared martial law and issued a shoot-to-kill order for looters . To speed the payouts that would allow families to keep their property , Brisac secured a pass from the Mayor and for weeks traversed San Francisco with a money belt and a pistol for self-protection while paying off claims
San Francisco earthquake and fire in 1906
1906 San Francisco earthquake
B. F. Brisac