The first move is mechanical: close the main shutoff. Every gallon after that decision is a gallon that does not need drying, and the shutoff is the one tool every homeowner should be able to find in the dark. If water has reached outlets or appliances, cut power to those rooms at the breaker before wading in.
Manchester version of the first hour: in a freeze burst, the split pipe is sealed by its own ice until the thaw, so the absence of running water proves nothing. Shut off the main if the meter moves with everything off, photograph plaster staining as it spreads, because wicking plaster is the timeline evidence, and do not open walls at random: the locate follows the water's evidence. Note the freeze dates; in this city the claim and the repair both run on them.
The second move is evidence: photographs of the failed line, the rooms, and the water's reach, taken before anything is moved or mopped. Insurers approve documented sudden losses; undocumented ones get argued. Note the time you found it and the time the water stopped.
The third move is the repair read: a split is a symptom with a cause (freeze, corrosion, pressure, age), and the repair visit should name the cause, because a patched effect with a live cause is next season's burst in a nearby section of the same run.
Prefer to talk later? Leave your details and an independent local pro will call you back. No charge to you, no obligation.
Massabesic Plumbing is a free referral service. Submitting this form connects you with independent local contractors who provide the work.