At 11pm on a Saturday night, your basement is filling with water. You don’t know where your shutoff valve is. You don’t know if you should call a plumber or wait until morning. And you definitely don’t know how much this is going to cost.
I’m Aron Oretan — a licensed master plumber with 26 years in the trade and 16 years running Triton Home Service in London Ontario. I’ve shown up to basements with ankle-deep water at 2am because the homeowner couldn’t find their shutoff. I’ve also talked people through containing a leak on the phone and told them honestly — this can wait until morning.
Here’s what I actually tell people when they call me in a plumbing emergency.
This is the question most people get wrong. A plumbing emergency isn’t just any plumbing problem that happens after hours. It’s specifically anything that is actively damaging your property and is beyond your ability to stop.
Here’s the test. If your faucet is dripping into the sink and nothing is getting damaged — that’s not an emergency. It’s annoying, but it can wait until Monday morning. However, if your toilet is overflowing and you don’t know how to stop the water — that’s an emergency. Water is damaging your floor, your subfloor, and potentially the ceiling below.
But here’s the part most people miss. If your toilet is overflowing and you DO know how to shut the water off — it’s no longer an emergency. You’ve contained the situation. Furthermore, anything that’s beyond your skill level to contain becomes an emergency by definition. The damage is what makes it urgent — not the time of day.
Before you call anyone — find your water shutoff valve and turn it off. This is the single most important action you can take in any plumbing emergency. Shutting the water off stops the damage from getting worse while you figure out next steps.
Here’s where to find it in a London Ontario home:
If you have a basement, go to the front right corner of the basement or along the front wall. That’s where the main shutoff valve typically sits in most London homes — particularly in older neighbourhoods like Old South, Wortley Village, and Byron where the water service enters from the street.
If you live in an apartment, find the mechanical room. If you don’t know what a mechanical room is — it’s whatever closet or storage room contains your hot water heater. Your shutoff is typically above the water heater in that space.
When you call Triton, the first question I ask is whether you know where your shutoff is. If you don’t, I guide you through finding it before I even get in the truck. Because stopping the water is always the priority. As a result, every second you spend looking for that valve while water runs is more damage to your home.
I’m going to be honest with you — and I’m going to be honest before I show up, not after.
When you call at 11pm, the first thing I tell you is that emergency service costs more than a regular call. That’s true of every licensed plumber in London Ontario. Furthermore, there’s no guarantee I can get someone out to you that night depending on the situation. So I set those expectations upfront.
Then I ask you to qualify the situation. Is the water contained? Do you still have a toilet you can flush? Can you survive the night?
Because here’s the reality. If it’s 11pm and the water is contained and you can wait six hours — we’re probably waiting until morning. Not because I don’t care, but because a contained situation at midnight is a non-emergency by 6am. You’re just going to bed anyway.
However, if the water is not contained — if someone in the building needs water urgently, if there’s ankle-deep water in your basement, if you genuinely cannot stop the damage — I’m coming out. But I’m going to tell you exactly what that costs before I get in the truck. I have done emergency calls where I set the expectation on the phone, the homeowner agreed, and then they were upset when I billed them exactly what I said I would. So we have that conversation before I drive, not after I arrive.
When I show up to a real emergency — and I’ve seen all of them — here’s what I’m doing.
I’m triaging. Not repairing. Not rebuilding. Triaging.
Think of it like a hospital emergency room. At 2am, the goal is to stabilize the patient — not to reset the leg, not to rebuild everything that broke. The goal is to stop the bleeding, put on a cast, and make sure things don’t get worse overnight. That’s what emergency plumbing looks like.
I’m finding the source of the problem. I’m stopping the water. I’m capping off whatever needs to be capped so that you can function until a full repair happens in daylight. If the damage is severe enough that you need to call your insurance company — that’s an insurance job. I’m not tearing down drywall at 2am. I’m not hauling out water-damaged materials. That’s restoration work and it requires a different contractor.
What you need from me at 2am is action. Not words. I’ve learned over 26 years that nothing I say to someone standing in a flooded basement is going to make them feel better. What makes them feel better is watching me walk in, assess the situation immediately, and handle it with confidence. That’s what you’re paying for when you call an emergency plumber at midnight. Not a speech. Not reassurance. A professional who knows exactly what to do and does it.
If you live in Old South, Wortley Village, Old East Village, or any of London’s older neighbourhoods — your home carries specific plumbing risks that newer construction doesn’t have.
Older London homes were built with galvanized steel pipe, lead pipe, and cast iron drain lines. These materials have a lifespan. When they fail, they often fail suddenly and completely — not gradually. A galvanized pipe that’s been corroding for 40 years doesn’t give you much warning before it goes.
Furthermore, the plumbing in a century home has often been modified, repaired, and jury-rigged by multiple previous owners over decades. I’ve opened walls in Old South homes and found repairs that would make your hair stand up. Connections that should never have been made. Materials that haven’t been code-compliant since the 1970s.
That’s not a criticism of the previous owners. It’s just the reality of older homes. And it’s why having a licensed master plumber — not just any plumber — matters when something goes wrong at 2am in a heritage home. Because what you find behind that wall is often not what you expected.
Once the immediate situation is under control, I give you a clear picture of what happened and what comes next.
If it was a simple failure — a fitting let go, a valve failed — we can often do the full repair the same morning. However if the problem is more complex — a failed section of galvanized pipe that’s indicating wider corrosion, a cast iron drain that’s showing signs of collapse — then we have a bigger conversation about what the real fix looks like and what it costs.
I show you what I found. I explain what caused it. I tell you your options. And I let you make an informed decision about next steps. That’s the conversation I’d want someone to have with me if it was my house.
Learn more about Triton’s plumbing services in London Ontario
What counts as a plumbing emergency in London Ontario? A plumbing emergency is any situation that is actively damaging your property and is beyond your ability to contain. If water is running and you can’t stop it, that’s an emergency. However if you can shut the water off and the damage is contained, it can often wait until morning. The damage — not the time of day — is what defines an emergency.
Where is the water shutoff valve in a London Ontario home? In most London homes with a basement, the main shutoff valve sits in the front right corner of the basement or along the front wall. In apartments, it’s typically in the mechanical room above the hot water heater. If you can’t find it, call Triton and we’ll guide you through locating it before we arrive.
How much does an emergency plumber cost in London Ontario? Emergency service costs more than a standard daytime call. Triton sets those expectations clearly on the phone before anyone gets in a truck. Pricing depends on the time, the nature of the problem, and what’s required to stabilize the situation. Contact us for an honest assessment before we come out.
Will you fix everything in one emergency visit? Not always. Emergency plumbing is triage — we stop the damage, stabilize the situation, and get you through the night. A full repair often happens the following morning once we can properly assess the situation in daylight. We tell you exactly what we’re doing and why before we start.
Do I need to call my insurance company? If the water damage is significant — soaked drywall, damaged flooring, structural concerns — yes, call your insurance company. Triton stabilizes the plumbing situation. Restoration and water damage remediation is a separate contractor. We can advise you on next steps but we’re not a restoration company.
Why does it matter that Triton is a licensed master plumber for emergency calls? In older London neighbourhoods, what’s behind the wall is often not what you expect. Heritage homes have been modified and repaired over decades. A licensed master plumber has the knowledge and credentials to assess the full situation — not just fix what’s immediately visible. That’s the difference between a patch and a proper repair.
Stop the water first. Find your shutoff valve and turn it off. Then call Triton.
I’ll ask you the right questions on the phone to understand what you’re actually dealing with. I’ll be honest about whether it can wait until morning or whether someone needs to come out tonight. And I’ll tell you exactly what it costs before anyone gets in a truck.
26 years in the trade. London Ontario homeowner emergencies handled with action, not words.
Contact Triton Home Service for emergency plumbing in London Ontario
For reference: City of London Water System and Emergency Contacts — City of London Ontario
Aron Oretan is a Licensed Red Seal Plumber and Steamfitter, UA Certified Instructor, and founder of Triton Home Service. With 26 years in the trade, licences in plumbing, steamfitting, and gas fitting, and five years teaching at Fanshawe College, he brings classroom expertise and field experience to every job in London, Woodstock, and Southwestern Ontario. Phone: 226-270-6424 | tritonservice.ca
