Oren wrote:

Recently the gas company was out to put a new meter on a new home. She
installed the meter and opened a gas line inside the garage to purge
the line. About thirty feet away was a lit cigarette.

The tech told me that the cigarette was "not hot enough" to ignite the
gas. I was surprised by this comment.

A lit cigarette won't ignite gasoline either.

A lit cigarette is barely hot enough to ignite another cigarette.