A GERMAN national was found dead after a pension house he was renting caught fire along F. B. Cabahug Street, Barangay Guizo, Mandaue City around 4 a.m. on Friday, May 29, 2026.
Authorities identified the fatality as Thomas Hans Schiemmer, a senior citizen. His remains were brought to Rolling Hills Funeral Homes while awaiting possible relatives abroad.
It was learned that Schiemmer had been staying in the pension house for four years but was reportedly living alone.
Fire Officer 1 Rolando Ajero, investigator of the Mandaue City fire incident, said the victim’s room was on the second floor and he was believed to have been going downstairs when he was likely overcome by smoke and fell on the stairs, resulting in his immediate death.
“Sa among inisyal nga investigation, murag na 'suffocate' ni siya, niya natagak kay iyang porma sa hagdanan ga ubo man. Niya di man sunog jud kaayo iyang lawas, naa lay mga paso gamay," Ajero said.
(In our initial investigation, it appears he may have suffocated and then fell. His position on the stairs suggests he was coughing. His body was not badly burned, only with minor burns.)
Aside from the foreign national who died, other tenants were able to safely escape when the fire broke out.
Authorities are still determining the total number of affected individuals as the pension house logbook was also destroyed in the fire.
Investigators said the fire likely started at the ground floor of the establishment, and because the building was made of light materials, the blaze quickly spread.
The Bureau of Fire Protection received the report at 4:01 a.m. and raised it to first alarm at 4:04 a.m.
The fire was brought under control at 4:52 a.m. and was fully extinguished by 5:24 a.m.
Estimated damage reached over P8 million, although authorities are still conducting a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause of the fire. (JDG)
