Plumbing in Buffalo spends the winter trying not to freeze and the spring trying to keep meltwater in the right place. Outside walls, hose bibs, garages, and houses that lost heat are where lines split. Basement floor drains, sump pumps, and the main shutoff become important the week the snow lets go. Older galvanized supply and a water heater in a cold cellar are ordinary, not exotic. Say whether water is where it should not be right now.
Three different calls get mixed up. A burst supply line is urgent, and the shutoff is the first tool. A floor drain backing up during a thaw is a drainage problem, sometimes tied to a sump or a sewer, not to the kitchen faucet. A water heater that quit or is leaking is the third. If the heat is also out, the plumbing call and the heating call are racing each other. Say both.
You can prevent a second disaster while you describe the first. If a pipe let go, say whether the main is off. If you do not know where the main is, say that. Do not open every wall. An outside-wall bathroom or kitchen is the likely spot in this climate. A hose bib that was left charged will split and then flood the joist bay when the thaw comes. Mention bibs if the leak is on an exterior wall.
Have the heater type if that is the complaint: tank or tankless, gas or electric, still making hot water or actively wet. Say if a drain was cleared once and returned. Say if the sump runs constantly in spring or has stopped running while the floor gets wet. Ask about the vent and the pan on a replacement. A cable clears a clog. It does not repair a broken pipe. Say which outcome you think you need, and let the call sort it.
Leave the shared high-rise riser for another city. Plumbing in Buffalo is freeze, thaw, a basement, and a shutoff you should be able to reach. Call the number on this page.