FENTON TWP, MI - Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell said it appears it was a tragic accident that led to the death of four children and two adults Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016 at a home in Fenton Township.

Police were called shortly after 2 p.m. Feb. 21 to the 13000 block of Stony Brook Pass in the Stony Brook subdivision where they discovered the family dead in different rooms inside the two-story home.

"It appears that the accident may be caused by carbon monoxide in the home," said Pickell. The four children, including three boys and one girl, were 2, 4, 7, and 9-years-old.

A generator had been running inside the lower level family inside the home, Pickell said. He described them as "a very loving Christian family who attends church regularly."

The family had suffered a power outage Friday, with the last contact by anyone made around 9:30 p.m. Feb. 19. The father of the husband at the home discovered the family on Sunday, Pickell said.

The state Department of Health and Human Services estimates that hundreds die and thousands are sickened each year by carbon monoxide across the country.

Carbon monoxide is a gas that is produced when fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil are burned. Deadly fumes can develop within minutes in enclosed spaces, entering the bloodstream and cutting off delivery of oxygen to the body's organs and tissues.

The first symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning may be headache, dizziness, confusion, fatigue, and nausea. As more of this gas is inhaled, it can cause unconsciousness, brain damage and even death, according to DHHS.

Thirty four people in Michigan were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in 2013, according to the most recent state statistics. The leading cause for those deaths was faulty furnaces or water heaters, followed by generators.

Four years ago, three people were killed in a Christmas Day carbon monoxide poisoning that officials blamed on a faulty furnace.

Earlier this month, a Kalamazoo man was killed and five others sickened by a carbon monoxide leak in a Cass County home.

After waiting to enter the home because of toxic fumes inside, Pickell said "We're in the house now and we're going to start going room to room and identifying the family members."

Deputies from the Genesee County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene, along with Fenton Township firefighters, Linden police, and a crew from Consumers Energy.

Genesee County Undersheriff Chris Swanson had described the scene as "horrific" after investigators were able to enter the home, a sentiment echoed by Pickell.

"It's very difficult just talking to the undersheriff who was in the house and saw all the bodies in the different rooms," he said. "No matter how long how many investigations we conduct, seeing young children, an entire family wiped out is just a very, very sad thing."