A frozen pipe needs thawing carefully, and the pipes that freeze in Wichita are predictable: runs in unheated crawl spaces, exterior walls on the north side, attached garages, and anything on the cold side of insulation. Hose bibs with the hose left attached are the classic.
The important thing to know is that a pipe that has frozen may already have split, and you will not find out until it thaws and the water arrives. We thaw with the shutoff accessible for exactly that reason.
Open torches on pipework are a genuine fire risk and cause house fires every winter. Heat is applied controlled, and we work from the fixture end back toward the blockage so meltwater has somewhere to go.
Technician insight
Leave the tap open while thawing. Flowing water carries heat to the ice and tells you the moment the blockage clears.