HOMEOWNER EMERGENCY GUIDE
Protect people first. Then protect the home.
Use these immediate steps while arranging professional help. Never put yourself in danger to reach a valve, appliance, or electrical panel.
Leave the property for gas odor or immediate danger.
If you smell gas, hear escaping gas, see fire, or believe there is a carbon-monoxide danger, leave immediately. From a safe location, call 911 or your gas utility. Do not operate lights, switches, phones, or appliances inside.
Active plumbing leak
- Keep people away from standing water near outlets, appliances, or electrical equipment.
- If safely accessible, close the nearest fixture shutoff valve. If that does not stop the leak, close the home’s main water valve.
- Move belongings away and contain water only when it can be done safely.
- Photograph the source and visible damage without delaying the shutoff.
- Call and explain whether the water is fully stopped.
No heat in freezing weather
- Confirm the thermostat is set to heat and has power.
- Do not repeatedly reset equipment or remove sealed panels.
- Keep vulnerable family members warm and use only properly listed heaters according to their instructions.
- Open sink-cabinet doors on exterior walls and allow vulnerable faucets to drip only when appropriate and safe.
- Call for heating service before indoor temperatures fall further.
Leaking water heater
- Stay clear of electrical controls, wiring, flame, and hot water.
- If safely accessible, close the cold-water supply valve feeding the heater.
- Do not attempt to cap a relief valve or disassemble the unit.
- Call and share whether it is a tank or tankless system and where water appears.
Overflowing toilet
- Stop flushing.
- Turn the small shutoff valve behind or beside the toilet clockwise if it moves easily.
- Keep wastewater away from children, pets, and porous materials.
- Do not use chemical drain cleaner in the toilet.
- Call if the fixture remains blocked, leaks at the base, or other drains are affected.