Alaska Public Media © 2025. All rights reserved.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Wasilla man dead after suspected carbon monoxide poisoning

a trooper car
An Alaska State Trooper K-9 Unit SUV in Anchorage. (Joey Mendolia/Alaska Public Media)

A man was found dead at a Wasilla home Wednesday night, and responders believe he was killed by carbon monoxide from gas-powered equipment running indoors.

Alaska State Troopers said in a statement that they responded just before 8 p.m. Wednesday to a call about an unresponsive man. When they arrived, EMS and other emergency responders were already attempting CPR on 50-year-old Chad Grasmick. 

Troopers said a living area inside an attic space had both a gas generator and a propane heater running without ventilation.

“Fire units discovered dangerously high CO levels inside the residence,” troopers wrote.

Carbon monoxide – a colorless, odorless gas that can build up in confined spaces and suffocate people – often causes deaths during Alaska’s winter months, when gas-fueled generators and heaters are used indoors. Investigators say CO poisoning killed two people and sickened a third found in November at a North Pole workshop, where responders discovered a generator with an empty fuel tank and a still-warm woodstove.

Troopers said Grasmick’s body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office Wednesday. His family has been notified.

Chris worked at Alaska Public Media from 2022 to 2025. He was a web producer and breaking news reporter.