A malfunctioning heating system at a New Hampshire vacation home led to a carbon monoxide leak inside the building, which authorities suspect killed a Newton family of four on Christmas Day.
The Goldstein family — Matthew, 52; Lyla, 54; Valerie, 22, and Violet, 19, died Wednesday at their vacation home, New Hampshire State Fire Marshal Sean Toomey said in a virtual news conference Friday afternoon.
Matthew Goldstein was only confirmed to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning, Toomey said. The causes of death for the rest of the family are pending as of Friday at 2 p.m
The family of four was supposed to be attending a holiday event, Toomey said.
When they didn’t show up, family members asked local authorities to check on the Goldsteins at 2962 Province Lake Road in Wakefield, New Hampshire, Toomey said.
There, authorities found the Goldsteins dead, according to the fire marshal. The house did not have a working carbon monoxide alarm.
The home’s propane gas system malfunctioned and stopped filtering carbon monoxide, causing the deadly gas to seep through the home, Toomey said.
The family died overnight, Toomey added. Three of them were found dead in a bedroom, while one was found in the bathroom.
Carbon monoxide deaths in New Hampshire are on the rise in 2024, with 10 cases reported this year, according to Toomey. There are usually two to three cases per year.
The most recent deaths from carbon monoxide occurred in Bedford, New Hampshire, when a woman and a man, both 79, succumbed to the colorless gas. according to CBS News.
“This has been a terribly tragic year for both fire and carbon monoxide deaths,” Toomey said. “It wears on all of us. It comes at a terrible time of year, the holidays being when we spend time with family and friends. So to lose an entire family of four in the middle of the holiday season, I guess it’s even more .
Authorities recommend that residents follow the following safety tips to ensure their carbon monoxide alarms are working properly:
- Install and maintain carbon monoxide alarms in a central location outside each sleeping area, on all levels of the home, and in other locations as required by law, code or regulation.
- If you have combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, follow the instructions for installing the smoke alarm.
- Test your carbon monoxide alarms once a month and replace them if they don’t respond properly when you test them.
- Replace the carbon monoxide alarm according to the manufacturer’s instructions or when the end-of-life signal sounds.
- Learn the difference between the carbon monoxide and smoke alarm sounds and the low battery signals for each alarm. If the low battery audible signal sounds, replace the batteries or replace the device.
- Carbon monoxide alarms are not a substitute for smoke alarms, and vice versa. Know the difference.
This article used previous material from MassLive.