Texas Woman Pushes For Building Code Changes In OK

A hidden hazard blamed for some large home fires has led some Oklahoma families to sue. 

Now, a Texas mother is warning the state Building Code Commission about the danger that she said killed her son. 

Becky Teel’s 31-year-old son Brennen Teel died in August 2012, after she said a lightning strike ignited a gas explosion in the attic of a house her son was visiting. 

Teel said the gas had leaked from corrugated stainless steel piping that draped through the walls of the house. 

On Tuesday, Teel urged Oklahoma’s Uniform Building Code Commission to force home builders to use high quality gas tubing. 

It could come at an average cost between $30 and a few hundred dollars per new home. 

The Board voted overwhelmingly not to change the building code.

“It’s painful because I think they should set a precedent for what could happen in other cities, and other states, but we’re beginning.” Teel said after leaving the meeting. 

No state has enacted the kind of code upgrade Teel is asking for.  However, Wichita, Kansas, passed something similar.