What to Do in an Electrical Emergency (and Who to Call)

In an electrical emergency, protect people first. Don't touch anyone still in contact with electricity. Switch off at the consumer unit only if you can reach it safely, and ring 999 for any fire or injury. Then decide: network fault, call 105; fault inside your home, call an electrician.

Most emergency calls we take start the same way. Someone has smelt burning or lost power, and they're standing in the hallway unsure whether to touch anything. That hesitation is sensible. The Health and Safety Executive puts it bluntly: electricity can kill or severely injure people and cause damage to property.

The first minute: people before property

Someone has had an electric shock

The instinct is to grab them. Don't. Electrical Safety First is clear that you should never touch a person while they're still in contact with the electricity source, because you could get a shock too.

1. Cut the supply. Unplug the appliance, or switch off the main switch at the consumer unit (fuse box) if you can reach it safely.
2. If you can't cut the power, Electrical Safety First's advice is to move the source away from them using something dry and non-conductive, such as a length of wood.
3. If they're unconscious, call 999 straight away. If they're not breathing normally, start CPR if you're able to, and only do the first aid you're trained and confident to carry out.
4. If they seem fine, keep watching them. The effects of a shock aren't always obvious at first and can include deep burns and heart rhythm problems.

Any burn caused by electricity is a job for 999 or A&E, according to the NHS, even if it looks small. Don't drive yourself there.

There's a fire and the electrics are involved

If a plug, socket or appliance is on fire, pull the plug out or switch off the power at the fuse box, but only if it's safe to do so. Sometimes that alone stops the fire. Never use water on an electrical fire, and don't take risks: get out, stay out and call 999. That's the guidance from Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, and London Fire Brigade's home fire safety guide uses the same get out, stay out, call 999 rule.

If the fire is at the consumer unit itself, forget the switch. Close the door behind you and leave.

When it's safe to switch off at the consumer unit, and when it isn't

Turning off the main switch is usually the most useful thing you can do. Electrical Safety First's flood guidance says to do it "only if it is safe to do so", and that's the right test for any emergency. In practice:

• Go ahead: the floor is dry and the board looks and sounds normal, with no smoke or flames in the way.
• Leave it alone: there's water on the unit or under your feet, or the unit itself is smoking, crackling, scorched or hot.

One thing people don't expect: the main switch only cuts power to what comes after it. The meter and the cables feeding the board stay live. Never open anything up, and keep away from exposed wiring, which Electrical Safety First warns may still be live.

Is it the network or your own wiring?

A quick look outside tells you a lot. If the street lights and your neighbours are dark too, it's almost certainly a network power cut, which no electrician can fix. If it's just your property, the fault is usually on your side. We've covered the full check in how to tell a power cut from your own fault, so here's simply who looks after what.

• Fire, injury or someone unconscious: 999.
• Power cut on the network: 105, free from a mobile or landline. It connects you to your local network operator, which in London is UK Power Networks (also on 0800 31 63 105, lines open 24 hours).
• Damaged or dangerous-looking supply equipment: the service cable and the cut-out are UK Power Networks' responsibility. If you think it's dangerous, stay away and call them.
• A problem with the meter: your energy supplier, the company you pay your bills to. The meter is their property.
• The consumer unit and everything after it: a qualified electrician. UK Power Networks describes this as part of your internal wiring.

Sources: UK Power Networks, What is 105?, help and contact and A typical domestic set-up; powercut105.com.

Genuine emergency, or can it wait until morning?

Not every fault needs someone out at midnight. London Fire Brigade says it has attended 26,376 electrical fires in London since 2017, so we never talk anyone out of a call they're worried about. What usually decides it is whether there's heat, arcing, water or a risk to someone's health right now.

Call an electrician now, once everyone is safe

• Burning smell or scorch marks: at a socket, switch, plug or the consumer unit.
• Buzzing or crackling: that's arcing, and Electrical Safety First lists it as a reason to get a registered electrician to check your electrics.
• Hot to the touch: a plug, socket or switch plate that's warm or hot.
• Water in the electrics: any sign of water inside the consumer unit, or water coming through a light fitting after a leak.
• Exposed or damaged wiring: after drilling, a leak or storm damage. Keep away from it, as it may still be live.
• A trip that won't reset: the breaker or RCD drops again straight away with everything unplugged, and it's taken out the heating or the fridge.

Sources: Electrical Safety First, fire prevention tips and safety after a flood; London Fire Brigade.

If the smell is coming from a socket or plug, our guide to a burning smell from a socket goes through the usual causes and what an electrician will check.

Usually fine to leave until the morning

• A breaker tripped by one appliance: once the faulty appliance is unplugged you can try switching the breaker back on. If it holds, leave the appliance unplugged and get it looked at.
• One dead socket or light: no smell, heat, marks or noise, and the rest of the circuit works. Stop using it and book a visit.
• Lights that flicker now and then: London Fire Brigade lists flickering and unexplained trips as possible signs of loose or dangerous wiring, so don't ignore them. Without heat, buzzing or a smell, though, it's a daytime fault-finding visit, not a midnight call-out.

Sources: UK Power Networks on trip switches; London Fire Brigade.

The exception is vulnerability. If losing a circuit means an older relative has no heating, or someone's medical equipment has no power, treat it as urgent and say so when you ring.

What to tell the electrician when you call

A clear picture on the phone means the right person turns up with the right parts, and helps us judge whether to talk you through making things safe while you wait. Have these ready:

1. What happened: a bang, a smell, a flash, water coming through the ceiling.
2. What's off: the whole property, one room or one circuit, and whether the neighbours still have power.
3. What the consumer unit shows: which switch has dropped (the main switch, an RCD or a single breaker) and its label. A photo from a safe distance is ideal.
4. What you've already tried: for example, you reset a breaker and it tripped again.
5. Who's in the property: young children, an older person, anyone relying on medical equipment.
6. Access: house or flat, which floor, parking, and where the consumer unit is.

Ask your own questions too: is the electrician registered with a scheme such as NICEIC, and how will the charge be worked out? Electrical Safety First recommends always using a registered electrician, partly because if you're unhappy with the work you can complain to their scheme operator.

How emergency electrician pricing usually works

There's no set national rate for an emergency electrician, and firms put their charges together differently. As a rough guide, this is how call-out pricing usually works in the UK market. It isn't our price list, and the totals vary a lot with the time of day and the fault.

• Call-out or attendance charge: the cost of getting someone to you. Some firms include a first spell of time on site, others charge labour from arrival. Ask which.
• Labour: usually hourly or in fixed blocks once any included time is used up.
• Time of day: evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays normally cost more than a weekday daytime visit.
• Parts: normally charged on top.
• Make safe now, repair later: at night the sensible option is often to isolate the faulty circuit, restore the rest and book the permanent repair for normal hours.

For typical London day rates, see our guide to what an electrician costs in London. Whoever you call, get the price, or exactly how it will be worked out, agreed before anyone starts.

Your rights on an emergency call-out

• No price agreed in advance: if the contract doesn't fix a price or say how it will be fixed, you pay a reasonable price for the service, and no more. What's reasonable is a question of fact, so agreeing it up front beats arguing afterwards.
• The urgent repair you asked for: the usual cancellation rights don't apply where you've specifically asked a trader to visit for urgent repairs or maintenance.
• Extras sold on the same visit: cancellation rights still apply to services beyond the urgent repair, and to goods other than the parts needed for it. If someone called out for a tripping circuit sells you a new consumer unit on the spot, that part keeps its cancellation rights.

Sources: Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 51 and Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as an electrical emergency?

Anything involving heat, arcing, water or a risk to someone's safety, from a burning smell or buzzing socket to exposed wiring or a shock. A single dead socket with no other symptoms can usually wait until the morning.

Should I turn the electricity off at the fuse box in an emergency?

Yes, if you can reach the main switch safely: dry floor, no water on the unit, and no smoke, heat or scorching on the board. If any of that is in doubt, leave it, get out and call for help.

Do I call an electrician or 105 when the power goes off?

If your neighbours are off too, call 105. If it's only your property and something has tripped at the consumer unit, it's an electrician's job. If you're the only one off and nothing has tripped, call 105 anyway, because the problem may be in the supply to your home.

How much does an emergency electrician cost?

It depends on the time, the travel and the fault, so a single figure would mislead you. Expect a call-out charge plus labour and parts, with nights and weekends usually costing more. Agree the price, or how it'll be calculated, before work starts.

Should someone see a doctor after a small electric shock?

If there's any burn from electricity, the NHS says call 999 or go to A&E. Even with no visible mark, Electrical Safety First warns that effects such as heart rhythm problems may not show straight away, so get medical advice if you're unsure.

Can I cancel an emergency electrician once they've started?

Not for the urgent repair you asked them to do, because the usual cancellation rights don't apply to it. Extra work or goods sold to you on the same visit keep their cancellation rights.

Something sparking, smelling or tripping and you're not sure it can wait? See our emergency electrician service or call us on 020 3653 2600 for a straight answer and a fixed quote before any work starts.