LUBBOCK, Texas -
A Texas father praised what he calls "heroic" actions on the part of Lubbock's City Council after it approved a measure requiring strict standards for gas pipes.
"This is a major breakthrough in solving the dangers that CSST presents to the United States," said Ken Teel, whose son was killed in a home explosion in Lubbock in August 2012.
CSST is corrugated stainless steel tubing. It's used for natural gas pipes in homes and businesses.
The city put a temporary ban on yellow-jacketed CSST in new construction in 2012.
At Thursday's City Council meeting, that ban was made permanent. The motion carried 6-0.
Experts say the problem with yellow-jacketed CSST is it's not lightning resistant. If lightning strikes, the electrical charge can puncture the tubing, allowing gas to escape and cause an explosion.
Fire Marshals say it happened in August 2012, killing Teel's son, Brennen.
"He was one of the most kind, gentle human beings that you can imagine," Teel said.
Lubbock Fire Marshal Garett Nelson said many more homes are at risk. West Texas is known for being flat, meaning chimneys are often the tallest objects in neighborhoods, making them susceptible to lightning strikes.
"When those chimneys are now attached to gas lines, we need to make sure that they are very resistant to energy like lightning that we have pretty often," Nelson said.
Council's move puts in place stricter standards for gas line tubing.
"What we can do now is take what's happened in the city of Lubbock, and we can go all over the United States with that information," Teel said.
Millions of homes nationwide have yellow-jacketed CSST installed, according to the Brennen Teel Foundation website.
"We're going to see this again," Teel said. "We're going to see several hundred homes burn. What we have to do is stop this going forward."
Lubbock Fire Marshal Frequently Asked Questions regarding CSST
