If the pilot light goes out doesn't it shut off the gas supply?

It does in my house. There is some kind of thermal cutoff that cuts the gas if it cools. The pilot keeps it warm enough to keep the gas flowing.

Yes for furnace and water heater. Oldest kitchen stoves and ovens (I believe pre-60s) - no.

We were talking about his wall heater.

Yes.

That's the thermocouple that TW mentioned.

Now to understand the problem and what will be relevant in press reports. A gas system distributes gas at high pressures. At multiple points, regulators repeatedly reduce pressure until gas into a house is maybe 3 PSI. Apparently a high pressure surge started in Ohio. Then travels across three states. Somehow this pressure wave may have blown through layers of regulators.

Also are many pressure relief valves including one maybe at each consumer's gas meter. How did all this fail? A resulting investigation should be informative.

My gas meter is inside my house. It better not release any pressure.

Turns out that I was wrong. Our 1946 boiler has a thermocouple in the pilot light.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4b0039a118.jpg


And! There is a cute little wolf spider down there that's hunting camel crickets. I tried to capture the reflection of his eyes, but it didn't come out so well. You can see it a little bit.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...931b0e921b.png

Where is a regulator that feeds that meter?

Where is the cricket that feeds that spider?

I dunno.

It wiggles and jiggles and tickles inside her.

As long as it wasn't gassed.

Well, it ain't weird, but it is news.

If this sort thing happened more often this sort of thing wouldn't happen so often...

Woman kills jail escapee who kicks in her door

:magnum: