3 ms·
It's not just the fire department that's better - in 1906 a lot of those fires were caused when the quake would pull a gas appliance from a wall and leave a gas
by cobbzilla 9y ago
It's not just the fire department that's better - in 1906 a lot of those fires were caused when the quake would pull a gas appliance from a wall and leave a gas leak that later ignited.
Nowadays everyone has their hot water heater and oven bolted or strapped to the wall. I'm sure there are other useful fire codes California has adopted since then but this one rule will probably prevent more fires in the next big quake than any other.
- JshWright 9y agoAdditionally, gas fittings that are designed to (safely) breakaway are more common.
- mturmon 9y agoMy LA house has to have a shutoff that automatically kills the main gas line during an earthquake. One must be installed when the house changes hands. No grandfather clause exception allowed.
- cobbzilla 9y agoyes, i'd forgotten about those; we got one installed at our house a couple years ago, iirc at no charge from PG&E. it's definitely better/safer than the per-appliance solutions.