Electrical Emergency? What to Do in the First Five Minutes

Electrical emergencies are frightening partly because most people have no script for them. Here is the script. Read it now, and it will be there when you need it.

If you smell burning or see smoke

Get everyone out of the building and call 911. Do not investigate. Do not open the panel. An electrical fire inside a wall can be well established before anything is visible, and the smell of hot insulation is the only warning many people get. Once everyone is safe and the fire service has cleared the property, call an emergency electrician to find and repair the fault.

If an outlet is sparking or hot

Unplug whatever is in it only if you can do so without touching the outlet face. Then switch off the breaker for that circuit. Do not use the outlet again, and do not simply cover it with tape. Sparking on plug-in is sometimes normal for high-draw appliances, but continuous sparking, buzzing or heat means the contacts are arcing.

If a breaker keeps tripping

Reset it once. If it trips again immediately, leave it off and call. A breaker that will not hold is not being difficult, it is detecting a short, an overload or a ground fault, and repeatedly forcing it back on is how a contained fault becomes a fire. Try to note what was running when it tripped, which narrows the diagnosis considerably.

If you have no power at all

Check whether neighbours have power. If the whole street is out, it is a utility outage and your electrician cannot restore it. If only your property is dark, the fault is on your side, often a main breaker, a failed service lateral or a problem at the meter, and that needs an electrician.

If part of the house has power and part does not

This pattern almost always means something inside your system, not the utility. A lost leg at the panel, a failed main breaker, a burned lug or a broken neutral will all produce exactly this. It is worth calling promptly, because a broken neutral can send high voltage to some circuits and damage electronics while you wait.

If there is water near electrical equipment

Do not enter standing water in a basement with a panel or outlets in it. Water plus energised equipment is one of the few genuinely lethal household situations. Shut off power at the main only if you can reach it from dry ground. Otherwise call the utility and an electrician.

What to have ready when you call

• Your address and the nearest crossroads, especially for rural properties
• What you can see, hear and smell, described precisely
• Which breakers have tripped and whether they reset
• Whether neighbours have power
• Whether anything unusual happened recently: a storm, an appliance install, roof work

What to expect from us

Our line is answered 24 hours a day, including holidays, and we do not add an after-hours charge. Dispatch will keep you on the phone if the situation warrants it and walk you through making the property safe while a crew is on the way. We cover the whole state, including Denver, Pueblo, Greeley and Grand Junction. Call (866) 651-5242.