What Counts as an Electrical Emergency?

If anyone is hurt, shocked or unconscious, or you see flames or heavy smoke, leave the area and call 911. Do the same for a downed power line, and stay well away from it and from anything it may be touching. Once everyone is safe and the fire department has done its job, call us. We will not be a substitute for emergency services, and we would not want you to try.

A common mistake is to try to fight an electrical fire with water. Water and live equipment do not mix, so get out and let the fire department handle it. Gather your household and pets, shut the door behind you if you can do so safely, and wait outside at a safe distance.

These situations are emergencies even without flames. Waiting makes them worse, and we are open 24/7.

A burning smell or smoking outlet

Hot plastic, a fishy chemical odor, or visible smoke from an outlet, switch, fixture or panel.

Sparking, arcing or popping

Flashes, buzzing or crackling from a device, a wall or the panel.

Water near electrical equipment

Water that has reached outlets, the panel or the meter, whether from a leak, a storm or flooding. Stay out of standing water.

A hot or buzzing panel

A panel cover that feels warm, shows discoloration, or hums.

Storm damage to the service

A bent or pulled mast, a loose or damaged meter, or wires torn away from the house.

Power that is half gone

Part of the house is dark, or lights surge bright and dim, while neighbors seem fine.

A generator that will not start

Your standby unit fails to come on during an outage, especially if someone in the house relies on power.

Some problems are worth fixing soon but do not need a night call. A single dead outlet. A light that flickers by itself. A breaker that tripped once and has held since. A ground fault outlet that will not reset and has no smell or heat around it.

One rule overrides this list: if you notice a burning smell, heat or any sizzling sound along with the problem, treat it as an emergency. When you are unsure, call and describe it. We would rather take a call that turns out to be minor than miss one that was not.

Plan to book these during regular hours so the technician has time to trace the cause properly. Fixing the real cause tends to be easier than fixing the damage that follows when a small problem is ignored for months.

Keep people and pets away from the area. Do not touch wet equipment or stand in water near electrical devices. Do not open the panel cover. If a device is smoking and the plug is within reach on dry ground, away from the hazard, unplugging it can help, but never step toward the problem to do it. If you are unsure, step back.

After a storm, never run a portable generator inside a house or garage. Exhaust contains carbon monoxide, which you cannot see or smell. If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, get everyone outside and call 911.

The more specific you are, the faster we can plan the right truck and tools. Give us your address and a callback number. Tell us what you saw, smelled or heard, when it started, and which part of the house is affected. If you know which breaker tripped, mention it. We will tell you what is safe to do until we arrive and what to leave alone.

If you can do it safely, a photo of the affected area from a distance helps. Do not move closer to get one. Your safety matters more than the picture, and a clear description over the phone is often enough for us to start.

Electrical problems rarely fix themselves. Heat, moisture and loose connections tend to get worse with time, and what looks like a small annoyance at midnight can become a damaged panel by morning. Calling early almost never costs more than waiting, and it can prevent a much bigger problem.

During storm season the phones get busy, so call as soon as you notice something wrong. If you have a standby generator, test that you know where it is and that it has been serviced before the weather turns, not during it.

Once the crisis passes, ask what caused it. A fault that comes from a surge may point to the need for protection at the panel. Repeated trips may mean an aging panel or overloaded circuits. An outage that put your family at risk may be a reason to consider standby power.

Wired Electrical & Generators is licensed and insured, serves Greater Houston, and answers the phone day and night. If you are facing an electrical problem right now, or want a free estimate on preventing the next one, call (713) 467-1125.