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Originally Posted by Altavia
Excellent info and synthesis Jref!
Is there is any correlation and/or increased risk related to metallic gas lines in the attic?
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The risk for the gas lines is when lightning strikes the house or near by there has been evidence of the corrigated gas lines puncturing (getting holes) from the electromagnetic pulse of the strike and the gas igniting. Especially with the older homes north of 466. There have been documentated cases where a home was struck by lightning and a fire ensued from the gas lines in the attic. Fortunately in several of these cases the homeowner was home, called the fire department and shut off the gas and put out the fire. The Villages upgraded the gas lines in the homes south of 44 but they are still of a corrigated type. So if you have a home with gas and you are concerned about lightning then get a Lightning Protection System. The installer will bond (ground) the gas manifold in the attic and the rest of the outside system which will virtually eliminate this issue. But remember, nothing is 100%. The alternative is to replace all your gas lines with solid metal pipe but that's a big expense and may be very hard to do in an older home.