Updated October 26, 2026
Minute 0 to 5: stop the water
Everything else waits until the water is off. Find the main shutoff valve, usually where the water line enters the house. In Flagstaff homes that is most often:
- In a utility or laundry room on an exterior wall.
- On the garage wall nearest the street.
- Under the kitchen sink, in some older homes.
- In the crawl space, near the front foundation wall.
- On a well system, at the pressure tank, after you switch off the well pump breaker.
Turn a round gate valve clockwise until it stops. Turn a lever ball valve a quarter turn so the handle sits across the pipe. If you cannot find or turn the house valve, the city meter box near the street has a shutoff that needs a meter key or a large adjustable wrench.
Then open the lowest faucet in the house, and a tub faucet if you have one. This drains the water still in the pipes and relieves pressure, which reduces how much more comes out of the split.
Minute 5 to 15: make it safe
Water and electricity are the real danger. If water is coming through a ceiling light, running down a wall with outlets, or pooling near the electric panel, turn off the affected circuits at the breaker panel, or the main breaker if you are unsure. Do not stand in water to reach the panel. If the panel itself is wet or you cannot reach it safely, call the utility.
If a ceiling is bulging with water, keep everyone out of the room. A sagging drywall ceiling can come down without warning. If you can stand clear, a small hole at the lowest point with a screwdriver lets water drain into a bucket in a controlled way.
Turn off the water heater if the cold supply to it is off for long; an electric tank with no water can burn out its elements.
Minute 15 to 30: limit the damage
- Take photos and video of every wet area, the split pipe, and the water on the floor, before you move things.
- Move valuables and electronics out of wet rooms. Lift furniture onto foil squares or wood blocks so legs do not stain carpet.
- Pull up area rugs and hang them somewhere they can drain.
- Mop and towel standing water from hard floors if it is safe, but do not try to extract carpet with a household vacuum.
- Open cabinet doors below sinks and in any wet room so air can move.
- Keep the heat on. You need the house warm both to prevent more freezes and to help drying.
Do not try to thaw other frozen pipes with a torch or open flame. A hair dryer or a space heater kept well away from anything flammable is safer, with the faucet open so meltwater can escape.
Minute 30 to 60: make the calls
Make three calls, in this order:
- Emergency water removal. Getting water out of carpet, pad and wall bottoms in the first few hours prevents most of the expensive damage. See water removal and burst pipe water damage.
- Your insurance company. Report the loss and get a claim number. Ask whether they need to see the damage before materials are removed. Most insurers expect you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage, which includes calling for water removal right away.
- A plumber. To repair the split section and check other exposed runs. The plumber does not need to finish before drying starts; water removal and drying come first.
When the restoration crew arrives, ask them to show you the moisture readings and to keep a daily log. That log, plus your photos, is what your adjuster will rely on.
The next few days
Expect drying equipment to run around the clock for three to five days. Crews will often cut the bottom of wet drywall and remove soaked baseboards and pad so the wall cavities can dry. Daily visits track progress until every material is back to dry standard. The water mitigation page explains this stage in detail.
Only when everything reads dry does rebuilding start: new drywall, texture, paint and flooring, covered on the water damage repair page. If drying was delayed by more than two days, ask for a mold check before walls are closed; see mold remediation.
Preventing the next frozen pipe
Flagstaff gets freezing nights for much of the year, and hard freezes almost every winter. These steps prevent most bursts:
| Step | When |
|---|---|
| Disconnect hoses and drain hose bibs | Before the first freeze in fall |
| Insulate pipes in crawl spaces, garages and exterior walls | Fall |
| Test heat tape and well-house heaters | Fall |
| Keep the thermostat at 55°F or higher | All winter, including when away |
| Open sink cabinets on exterior walls | Nights forecast below about 20°F |
| Let a faucet drip on the coldest wall | Nights near or below zero |
| Install a temperature or leak alarm | Any second home or rental |
| Drain the plumbing before long absences | Cabins left empty for weeks |
If you own a cabin in Munds Park, Parks or Kachina Village, a smart water shutoff valve paired with leak sensors is the single best investment. It can close the main the moment it detects a leak, even if nobody is there.
Common questions after a burst
Will insurance cover it?
A sudden burst in a heated, occupied home is usually covered. A freeze in a vacant home where heat was not maintained may be limited or excluded. The restoration cost guide has a coverage table.
Can I dry it myself with fans?
For a small amount of water on tile caught right away, maybe. For anything that soaked carpet, ran into walls or went through a ceiling, household fans will not dry wall cavities and subfloor fast enough to stop swelling and mold.
How do I know if a pipe froze but did not burst?
A faucet that only trickles on a cold morning usually means a frozen section. Keep the faucet open and warm the likely area gently. Watch for leaks once it thaws; hairline splits often show up as a ceiling stain days later.
If you are away when it happens
Many Flagstaff-area bursts are found by someone else: a neighbor who sees water running out under the garage door, a property manager, or a smart sensor alert on a phone in Phoenix. If that is you, ask whoever is on site to shut off the main valve if they can do it safely and to take photos of every room. Call your insurer to open a claim and call for emergency water removal; crews can usually coordinate access with a neighbor or lockbox. Drive up when you can, but do not let your travel time delay the extraction.