Bollinger County sheriff's mother dies in morning Arab fire

ARAB, Mo. -- The mother of Bollinger County Sheriff Terry Wiseman died Tuesday as a result of injuries sustained in a fire at her home near Arab.

Marlene Wiseman, 71, received third-degree burns over most of her back and died while en route to a hospital, said Jim Bollinger, chief of the Marble Hill Fire Department.

Two passers-by pulled Wiseman from the carport of the home, where she collapsed after escaping the burning structure, Bollinger said.

Firefighters from Advance, Mo., were the first on the scene, Bollinger said. The fire was raging throughout the house when they arrived, he said.

Crews from Zalma, Mo., and Marble Hill arrived shortly thereafter, he said, but there was little they could do to save the structure.

The fire apparently started in the kitchen, Bollinger said. That area of the house was so thoroughly ravaged by flame that it is impossible to determine what exactly caused the fire, he said.

Wiseman was a widow who lived alone. Her husband Odell Wiseman died in November 2003.

She recently had some health problems, Bollinger said, but had begun to drive again.

The call for the fire came in around 3:15 a.m., Bollinger said. When the fire was out, only three of the four walls were standing.

The fire was investigated by Bollinger and Butch Amann of the state fire marshall's office.

There was nothing to lead investigators to believe the fire was suspicious or the result of foul play, Amann said. The kitchen is believed to be the point of origin because of the burn patterns on exterior walls and the level of destruction in the house, he said.