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This roofing nail narrowly missed hitting a natural gas supply line.

McKINNEY — Many homeowners don't even know the potential danger exists just a few feet above their heads: natural gas lines that were installed too close to their roofs.

We first told you about the situation in Mansfield on Wednesday, but we have since learned that the problem is not limited to that Tarrant County city.

Home inspections just got tougher in McKinney. If workers in the Collin County seat are even remotely worried that your gas line could be too close to your roof, they are now requiring that a steel plate — thick enough to withstand a nail gun — or thick wood be installed as a shield.

It was a close call for Frank and Sarah McGreevy when a gas line too close to the roof of their home was punctured by workers who were replacing shingles.

"At first I was afraid, scared," Sarah McGreevy said. "The house could go kaboom!"

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Frank McGreevy checks the gas lines in his attic.

The McGreevys were away when the gas line was compromised; they returned home to find a frenzy in their yard.

Roofers alerted neighbors to the potential danger the moment they hit the line.

"I went upstairs into the attic, and got the whiff of the odor that is unmistakable," Frank McGreevy recalled.

As News 8 reported previously, Mansfield officials are investigating four cases in which workers punctured gas lines that were installed too close to the roof.

The McGreevys say that knowing this has happened elsewhere caught them off guard.

"We thought it was just a fluke and we had a lot of bad luck," Sarah McGreevy said.

McKinney inspectors said they started getting calls about the problem about two months ago, creating concerns serious enough to force the city to step up inspection procedures.

"Builders are going to be required to have a steel plate or wood blockage to protect the pipe and provide proper clearance," explained McKinney city spokeswoman Anna Folmnsbee.

The regulation is intended to keep a nail from puncturing the gas line if it enters near the gas line.

The McGreevys say that will only work if inspectors are more diligent.

"I don't know what the answer is, but this should not have happened," Sarah McGreevy said. "It shouldn't have happened to anyone."

The City of McKinney says that when other contractors work on your house, they can often move gas lines away from their original location.

So while Mcgreevys gas line didn't comply with code regulations, the question becomes: Whose fault is that?

E-mail sslater@wfaa.com