What Counts as an Electrical Emergency? (And What to Do Right Now)

Some electrical faults need immediate attention. Others are inconvenient and worth sorting soon, but they’re not emergencies. Knowing the difference matters — both for your safety and to avoid calling out an emergency electrician at midnight for something that could have waited until the next morning.

Here’s how to tell what’s urgent and what isn’t.

Genuine Electrical Emergencies

Burning smell from a socket, switch, or consumer unit

A burning smell from any electrical fitting means something is overheating. Switch off the affected circuit at the consumer unit immediately, and stop using the fitting. If the smell is coming from the consumer unit itself, switch off the main isolator and call an electrician. Don’t wait to see if the smell goes away on its own.

Overheating in wiring causes fires. This is worth repeating: not eventually, not in theory — it causes fires, and it does so faster than most people expect.

Scorch marks or discolouration around a socket or switch

Visible charring or discolouration around a socket outlet or light switch means something has already overheated. Treat it the same way as a burning smell: take the circuit off and get an electrician to look at it before you use the fitting again.

Sparking from a socket or fitting

A small spark when you plug something in is normal — it’s the initial current draw of the appliance. Large sparks, repeated sparking with no obvious cause, or sparking accompanied by a burning smell are not normal. Switch off at the consumer unit and call an electrician.

Complete loss of power with no obvious cause

If your property loses power and it’s not a wider area outage (check your neighbours or your network operator’s outage map), the first thing to do is look at the consumer unit. If all the breakers are in the correct position and the main isolator is on, the fault is likely on the supply side — contact your Distribution Network Operator (DNO), not your energy supplier.

If breakers have tripped, try resetting them. If an RCD or MCB won’t hold when you reset it, or trips again immediately, there’s a fault in the installation. That warrants getting an electrician out the same day.

Flooding or water near electrical fittings

Water getting into or near a consumer unit, socket outlet, or ceiling fitting is a serious situation. Switch off the main isolator and do not restore power until an electrician has checked that the installation is safe. Even if everything looks dry, water ingress into wiring and enclosures can cause faults that aren’t visible at first.

Exposed or damaged live cables

If you find a cable with damaged sheathing where the conductor is visible, treat it as live regardless of whether the circuit appears to be off. Switch off the circuit at the consumer unit and call an electrician. Don’t attempt to tape or cover it yourself as a permanent fix.

Things That Aren’t Emergencies

A single circuit tripping

One MCB tripping when you’ve overloaded a ring main — too many appliances on the same circuit — is the system working as it should. Switch off some of the load, wait a moment, then reset the breaker. If it holds, carry on. If it trips again under a normal load, that’s worth investigating during normal hours.

A single light fitting that’s stopped working

In the vast majority of cases, a failed light fitting is a blown bulb, a faulty fitting, or a loose connection in that specific accessory. Check the bulb first. If the fitting has failed, book it in as a routine job.

Power off to a single room

Check the consumer unit. If one MCB has tripped and it resets and holds, you’ve likely had a brief overload. If it won’t hold, book an electrician for during normal hours — this isn’t something you need to wake someone up for at midnight unless it’s the only circuit keeping important equipment running.

A buzzing dimmer switch

Buzzing dimmers are usually incompatible with LED bulbs (many older dimmers don’t work properly with LEDs), or the dimmer itself is failing. Replace it during normal hours.

What to Do While You Wait

For genuine emergencies where you’ve isolated circuits or switched off the main:

• Keep the area around the fault clear
• Don’t attempt to open consumer unit enclosures or inspect wiring yourself
• If you’re unsure whether you’ve fully isolated the fault, treat the area as live until the electrician confirms otherwise
• Have the address, postcode, and a clear description of the fault ready when you call

Jack covers Chesterfield and the surrounding Derbyshire area with 24-hour availability for genuine electrical emergencies. Call 07746 514426.