Every natural gas customer depends on an invisible guardian- the service regulator.
This small device performs a massive job: managing gas delivered at high-pressure, pressures as high as 120 psig and reducing it down to the fraction of a pound safely used inside homes and businesses.
Yet despite being one of the most critical safety components in the distribution system, the regulator and its partner, the gas meter has a critical weakness- fire.
Both are made of aluminum, plastic and rubber and these devices can fail within minutes when exposed to the high heat of a fire.
When that happens, the very system designed to serve customers safely turns into a fuel source for the fire, releasing high-pressure gas that fuels a fire into a powerful and hazardous, high temperature gas fire.
Because regulators and meters are usually installed right next to buildings, the danger to occupants and first responders couldn’t be more direct.
Live-fire tests conducted by the Fire Solutions Group LLC confirm that regulators and meters consistently fail in under three minutes, releasing large volumes fed by high pressure.
The escaping gas transforms a traditional ‘Class A’ fire into a more powerful gas-fed ‘Class B’ fire, a fire that can’t simply be extinguished and remains active until the utility can respond and remotely shut off the gas supply, often taking an hour or more.
The real-world danger was recently evident during the 2024 Southern California wildfires. Thousands of gas meter sets failed and vented into already catastrophic conditions.
Manual shutoff valves were inaccessible and even utility main valves could not be reached, compounding the hazard to neighborhoods, first responders and utility employees.
Doug Staebler
Recognizing the urgency, Rep. Laura Friedman (CA-30) and Bill Caram, Executive Director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, testified before the US House Energy and Commerce Committee in July 2025 to accelerate adoption of Thermal Activated Shutoff (TAS) technology.
This is where TAS technology changes the game.
By automatically sensing extreme heat and sealing off the flow of gas before regulators and meters fail, TAS technology relieves this long-standing vulnerability in gas metering adding its needed layer of protection.
Instead of escalating into catastrophic fire events, a TAS-equipped system contains the gas threat; protecting people, property and the first responders that respond to the fire, by assuring the safety integrity of the gas meter set.
Utilized in gas systems around the globe and now commercially available in the United States, Thermal Activated Shutoffs provide an inexpensive and highly effective safeguard.
Devices such as the FireBag® are engineered to close automatically in the heat of a fire, before the regulator fails.
Installed upstream of the regulator, they prevent the release of high-pressure gas through the regulator and meter, stopping escalation into a gas-fed fire.
Unlike manual shutoff valves which are typically located at the meter set and inaccessible during fire, thermal shutoffs operate automatically, require no maintenance and remain closed even after cooling, allowing the time needed for the gas utility to respond and safely shutoff the underground supply of gas.
Germany first required thermal shutoffs in 1998 (DIN 3586) and the resulting TAS technology has since become the international benchmark for gas-fed fire protection.
TECO SRL in Italy has produced the FireBag® since 1995, with over 13 million units installed worldwide and more than 500,000 already installed here in the US, but still a long way to go.
Doug Staebler
Despite their frequency and severity, regulator and meter failures in fires are rarely properly documented.
Fire-damaged gas meter set equipment is often removed and logged by the utility simply as “fire damage,” rather than recognized as a contributing factor in the fire.
As these gas meter system failures are typically a result of a structure fire, they are classified as a “secondary” source rather than the primary cause and therefore the hazardous role they played in feeding the fire is typically overlooked and left untracked.
As a result, fire departments, policymakers and utilities lack an accurate understanding of both the level of risks and the consequences.
This absence of clear documentation and data fosters a false sense of security, weakens awareness of the hazard and its consequences and aids in the delay of both preventative measures and the adoption of proven safety solutions, such as the TAS.
Doug Staebler
A truer understanding of this scenario, driven by data will aid in the recognition of the hazard and the drive by the system operator and the regulatory bodies who oversee them, to push for and adopt a needed solution.
Automating high-pressure gas shutoff is a critical step in enhancing the safety of gas delivery, preventing gas-fed fires and significantly reducing hazards for both occupants and firefighters.
Widespread deployment of TAS technology would:
Manual gas shutoffs alone can fall short in meeting the urgency of today’s fire risks. TAS technology is proven, effective and affordable.
The path forward is clear: accelerate adoption of TAS technology and improve documentation as to protect the public, building occupants and first responders from the hazards of gas-fed fires.
Doug Staebler
If not system-wide adoption, gas metering installations, at the least, should include TAS technology on sites where firefighters face higher risks, the probability of fire is greater and the potential public consequences are the highest:
The firefighting community knows better than anyone the devastating force of gas-fed fires and the lifesaving difference that prevention can make.
TAS technology is a simple, affordable, and proven safeguard that can stop these fires before they escalate, protecting both the public and the first responders who must manage these unstoppable and dangerous fires.
Doug Staebler
TECO Americas is currently working with the entire stakeholder chain in the natural gas industry, raising awareness of TAS technology, advocating for its adoption and use utility by utility and meeting with government officials, lobbying for the eventual codification in the Federal and State codes that govern the industry.
By lending the voice and advocacy of the firefighting community, you can help accelerate the adoption of a technology that directly reduces the risks you face every day.
Whether communicating directly to your local gas utility at the state level or federal level, your stake in advancing this safety improvement will be heard and recognized.
Together, we can make TAS not just an innovation, but a standard of protection for every firefighter and the communities you serve.
