An electric clothes dryer and vent system malfunction ignited a fire that destroyed a single-family home in North Hero, Vt., on Saturday and killed two small boys, Vermont State Police said Monday.
Desiree and Mason Maltais, both 30, escaped the flames but could not reach their children when a fire erupted on Bridge Road at 1:08 a.m., State Police said in a statement. Theodore Maltais, 5, and Nathaniel Maltais, 11 months old, died in the fire.
‘The fire began due to an issue with the electric clothes dryer and vent system, which had been in use an hour prior to the fire. The area of origin of the blaze was the laundry room,” the statement said.
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The cause of the blaze was accidental, and the investigation is continuing, the statement said.
The Vermont Department of Public Safety investigated the fire.
The Vermont Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducted autopsies on the two boys, State Police said.
Theodore Maltais was a kindergartener at North Hero School, said Gary Marckres, the chairman of the Champlain Islands Unified Union board of school directors.
The board said it is “deeply saddened by the tragic loss experienced by the Maltais Family and the entire North Hero community. The Maltais family’s devotion to community service and giving to their neighbors is the fabric of what makes Vermont and the Champlain Islands special places,” the board said in a statement.
A fund-raiser for the family had raised more than $70,000 as of Tuesday morning, according to a GoFundMe page.
Alyssa Lukpat can be reached at alyssa.lukpat@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlyssaLukpat.