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Home where father and son died had no alarms

Investigators believe Joseph Lopes, 41, and his son Collin were killed after they were apparently overcome by carbon monoxide on the second floor of their Buttonwood Lane home.David G. Curran

The fire chief in Acushnet Thursday made an impassioned plea to the public to install carbon monoxide and smoke alarms in their homes after a father and his 9-year-old son were found dead in a residence that lacked both devices.

Investigators believe Joseph Lopes, 41, and his son Collin were killed after they were apparently overcome by carbon monoxide on the second floor of their Buttonwood Lane home, authorities have said. They were found dead Wednesday.

“Let’s challenge everyone to turn their grief and their thoughts of support for the Lopes family into action and have them purchase for a loved one a carbon monoxide detector and a smoke detector,” Acushnet Fire Chief Kevin Gallagher said at a news conference.

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Last year, firefighters statewide went to more than 15,600 calls for carbon monoxide, including 4,782 instances where the gas was detected, state figures show.

Authorities believe the carbon monoxide that killed the father and son leaked from a natural-gas fired furnace in the basement, Gallagher said.

Near the furnace, carbon monoxide levels were more than 3,000 parts per million, he said. By comparison, Gallagher said, carbon monoxide alarms are programmed to sound when they detect levels of 30 parts per million.

The levels reached more than 2,600 parts per million on the second floor, where Lopes and Collin were found dead, he said.

“At that level, it’s lethal,” Gallagher said.

Lopes was a carpenter who coached youth basketball, baseball, and soccer. His son was a fourth-grader at Acushnet Elementary School, who was about to start playing basketball.

Gallagher said firefighters plan to visit Collin’s classmates next week to discuss the dangers of carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas that spreads silently and has no color, taste, or odor.

Heating systems are the leading cause of leaks, though the gas can also build up in other household equipment, including hot-water heaters and gas stoves, or by running generators, lawn mowers, or snow blowers in enclosed areas, according to the website for the state Department of Fire Services.

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State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey recommended heating systems get serviced annually.

Most residences have been required under state law to have carbon monoxide alarms since March 2006.

The provision mandating their installation is known as Nicole’s Law and was named for 7-year-old Nicole Garofalo, who died in January 2005 when a heating vent in her house in Plymouth was blocked by snow drifts, allowing carbon monoxide to accumulate inside.

The law requires firefighters to verify that residences are equipped with working carbon monoxide alarms prior to any property transfer or sale, but officials said they have no other way to track compliance.

“That’s the only time we’re allowed to go in and check on these things,” Gallagher said.

In this case, firefighters didn’t have an opportunity to look for carbon monoxide detectors inside Lopes’s home because the property was purchased in 2004, before the law passed, he said.

Officials said having carbon monoxide alarms is just part of the picture. People should also make sure the devices have working batteries and heed warnings if the alarm sounds, authorities said.

“People have thought it was a false alarm and not responded,” Ostroskey said. “If the alarm goes off, get outside and call 911.”

Fire officials said they regularly get calls about carbon monoxide alarms.

“We see them all year long,” Ostroskey said.

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Hours after Lopes and Collin were found dead in Acushnet, firefighters in Mashpee were summoned to a home on Fairneny Way, where a carbon monoxide alarm sounded, Fire Chief Thomas Rullo said Thursday in a telephone interview.

Two residents safely evacuated, and firefighters found carbon monoxide leaking from the furnace around 5:11 p.m. Wednesday, Rullo said.

“People need to make sure they have [carbon monoxide] alarms in their home,” he said. “The earlier notification, the better off you are.”


Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @lauracrimaldi.