When to Call an Emergency Electrician to Your Home
Some electrical problems in your home can wait until you can make an appointment with an electrician, but others should warrant a call to an emergency electrician. This doesn't mean just when there is a fire along the wires of your home (this is obviously an emergency), but there are many other urgent situations that should cause you to get an electrician to your home as soon as possible. Note a few of these so you know when to call an emergency electrician versus waiting.
1. When you can smell something charred behind the walls
Remember that an electrical fire with actual flames is not the only time that wires may be singeing the building materials behind your walls; if you can smell something charred or a burning smell, this may signal a bare or frayed wire that is in contact with insulation, drywall, building studs and the like. This may lead to an electrical fire or the materials may smoulder and continue to get damaged.
Even if you think the wiring in your home is too new to have become bare or frayed, note that sometimes rodents can chew through the wires and cause them to become exposed. No matter the cause, if you can smell something charred or any type of burning smell, call an emergency electrician.
2. If wires are near water
If your basement or another room has flooded and there are wires anywhere near the flood, even if they're not bare or frayed or otherwise damaged, you want to call an emergency electrician. Any damage to the covering of the wires can mean that the electrical circuit will be conducted through the water, and this can be dangerous if not deadly to someone who comes into contact with that water. If wires should come loose for some reason and hit the water before you can clean it up, this can be dangerous for you. Have an electrician handle the situation as quickly as possible to ensure your safety.
3. When sparks come from your circuit box
You may know there is a problem with your wires when sparks come out of the wall sockets, but if they come from your home's circuit breaker panel or box then this too means it's time to call an emergency electrician. The circuit breakers are meant to safely stop the circuit of electricity and if there are sparks, they may not be doing their job. The box could be damaged by rust or corrosion, or wires behind the connectors may have come loose. Whatever the case, call an emergency electrician so you can have a new, safe circuit breaker panel installed.
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