It is a fact. Seven TV homes in less than seven years have been destroyed literally within minutes. Direct lightning strikes which burned small holes in the roof quickly melted the flexible lines and essentially caused a natural gas explosion. The lines are plastic clad soft metal, but no match even for a small flame. A class action lawsuit several years ago found two or three major manufacturers of this flex pipe liable for damages and awarded settlements to homeowners in amounts sufficient to have lightning protection systems installed on their homes. The settlement eligibility period expired over a year ago.
I am not aware of anyone who has ever replaced flex gas line with either rigid copper or steel pipe. The problem is the proximity of the lines to open flames caused by roof fires started by lightning strikes. My opinion is that rigid copper lines would be nearly as vulnerable as flex lines and that steel pipe would be vulnerable as well. There is enough information already published about this to conclude that no home in Central Florida which has attic gas lines is safe without a properly installed lightning protection system.
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