The water is running — and you're not home

You're three hours away when the neighbor calls: water is coming from under your garage door. You can picture the main shutoff. Sort of. It's behind a panel, or beside the water heater, or maybe that was the old house.

The neighbor is willing to help. What they need isn't courage — it's the right photo, the right instruction, and permission to act before a plumber can get there.

In a home emergency, information is only useful if the person standing there can reach it.

The five-minute information kit

• A clear photo of the main water shutoff and how to turn it.
• Gas and electric shutoff locations, with the utility emergency numbers.
• Home-insurance policy and claim phone number.
• Alarm company, trusted neighbor, plumber, electrician, and emergency contacts.
• Generator, sump-pump, and pet instructions — plus anything unique to your house.

The Emergency Vault keeps those details with each home. You can add open notes for the odd facts only your household knows, and anyone you've invited can pull them up from any phone, tablet, or computer.

Set it up before the alarm is sounding

Walk through the house once with your phone. Take the shutoff photos, add the contacts, and write one plain-English sentence for each step. Ten calm minutes today can save hours of damage when nobody has ten minutes to think.