There are emergency service ways to combat this water damage disaster. Let's talk about the four steps you can take, to prevent this from happening to you and your family.
When you get to the house stand if front of the toilet and locate the water shut off valve. Should be down below the toilet on the wall. Just turn it off (righty-tighty) completely and flush the toilet. All the water should have left the tank, well at least most of it. If there is remaining water line repair get it out with paper towels or a rag. The important thing is that no more water came in. If it did then your valve is not shut all the way or not working and you need additional help.
When trying to locate a plumber, be sure they have had proper training. There are three types of plumbers and they are classified by the amount of training they have. An apprentice plumber receives training through a local union. They follow an apprenticeship program for about three or four years. They learn through on-the-job training and some classroom structure. An apprentice plumber does get paid for on-the-job training.
These harsh working conditions would be hard for anyone. Plumbers need to make sure that they take all of the precautions they can take to remain uninjured, healthy and safe.
The water line repair most likely damaged your electrical outlets and lighting fixtures. Have a qualified electrician come in to evaluate and repair the electrical.
There are a lot of different shapes and styles of toilets but, with a few exceptions, they all work about the same. Water is released from the tank (many commercial toilets use a special valve instead of a tank) into the bowl to flush the waste into your drainage piping. Basically pretty simple, right?
Bottom line is that it is now very easy for even a desk jockey to fix his own pipes. Go by the closet home improvement store on your way home. Pick up some of these fittings and impress the wife with talents that she did not know you had. You may even get brave and do that small plumbing project that she has been begging for. Now you can use these fittings to cut into that water line to run that new outside faucet or hookup that water filter yourself. With the push type fitting plumbing has been made easy enough for anyone to be able to do it.