If the gas pipe fueling your furnace looks like this, you’re at risk. Flex connectors can fail during an earthquake.
Gas furnaces have been used to heat millions of homes safely and efficiently for over a century. Proper installation and service means you have no reason for concern. But one detail that sometimes gets missed is the final fuel connection for your furnace. Most gas appliances installed in your home use a flexible connector to terminate the fuel line. That should pose no hazard, EXCEPT when the flex connector is used for a home furnace. The furnace cabinet is sheet metal, and the hole punched in the cabinet is usually sharp enough to pose a cutting risk if there’s an earthquake. California building codes now call for eliminating flex connections through the furnace cabinet. Instead, galvanized gas piping (“hard pipe”) is now required. This is robust enough to withstand any abrasion from the furnace cabinet. You should have your furnace checked to make sure it’s properly piped in. To upgrade your furnace gas line to current code, the old flex line and shut off valve will be removed and replaced with ridge metal pipe, installed from the gas valve thru to the outside of the housing, a new stainless steel flex line and a new shut off valve.
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(Left photo) Improper fuel connection showing the old way that flex gas lines were installed. The gas line passes thru the heaters housing making it subject to breaking in the event of an earthquake. Note how the sharp cabinet edge is dangerously close to the flex line.
(Right photo) Proper “hard pipe” connection. The flex line goes into a galvanized elbow, which then uses a length of hard pipe to pass through the furnace cabinet. This shows how the line should be install according to the current building codes.