Niagara Falls has a large stock of older housing, a good deal of it with basements of an age where foundation walls were never sealed against water.
Vacant and lightly occupied properties are a bigger factor here than in most of our area, and an empty house through a Buffalo winter is where the worst losses happen.
What we deal with in Niagara Falls homes
Frozen and burst pipes in unheated or vacant properties, discovered whenever somebody next opens the door rather than when they happen.
Foundation seepage and sump failures account for the rest, along with ageing waste lines in the older stock.
A property has been vacant. What should I check first?
Shut off the water before you look at anything else, then look for staining on ceilings, standing water in the basement and any smell of damp. Do not switch on power if there is water near a panel.
How long can a burst pipe run in an empty house?
Until somebody notices, which can be weeks. That is why the standard advice for a property standing empty here is to close the main and drain the system rather than relying on heat.