Blaze takes 2 lives, guts Norfolk home.(Local) - The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)

NORFOLK -- BY MATTHEW ROY

THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

NORFOLK - A prominent retired physician and his wife were believed to have been killed in a blaze that engulfed their waterfront home early Tuesday, according to Norfolk Fire-Rescue.

Firefighters combing through the ruins of the home of Dr. Harry S. Wise, 91, and his wife, Pauline, 89, found the bodies of two people. The bodies were being brought to the medical examiner's office so their identity could be verified, said Battalion Chief Bruce Evans of Norfolk Fire-Rescue.

Wise's lengthy public health career included battling smallpox in India and bubonic plague in Vietnam before he took on the role of director of the Norfolk Health Department, a post he held for 15 years.

A person driving in the area of Granby Street and Willow Wood Drive called authorities at about 5 a.m. to report a fire but could not tell exactly where it was. Several minutes later, the first firefighters arrived at East Arden Circle, which is off Granby Street. By then, much of the two-story red brick house, on the bank of the North Branch of the Lafayette River, was engulfed in flames.

Firefighters were able to enter , but the advancing fire prevented them from searching much of the home.

'The floors were burned away and missing,' Evans said.

Fire devoured much of the structure, leaving a brick shell. One firefighter was treated for a minor injury and released from Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center.

Late in the morning, workers used an excavator to knock down the home. Firefighters searched the rubble throughout the afternoon and found the remains.

Evans said the cause of the fire has not been determined and added that nothing at this point appeared suspicious.

Wise retired as director of the Norfolk Health Department in 1984, when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Prior to that, he worked for the U.S. Public Health Service, according to previous reports in The Virginian-Pilot.

He was a proponent of public health who was known to promise to buy smokers a steak dinner if they quit.

His work took him around the world, from Arizona's American Indian communities to Vietnam. He worked in India in 1974 on a World Health Organization project to eliminate smallpox.

Closer to home, he was one of the founding board members of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia in 1981 and remained an honorary board member, still attending meetings. He understood that nutritious diets were necessary for good health, said Carol Jarvis, a board member.

At age 91, he remained active in community theater and still cut his own grass, said his neighbor, Russell E. Bennett Jr.

Bennett described Wise's wife, who was 89, as 'a very nice, quiet, polite person.'

News researcher Jakon T. Hays contributed to this report.

nReach Matthew Roy at (757) 446-2540 or matthew.roy@pilot online.com.