24-Hour Emergency Electrician
Some electrical problems will not wait until Monday. A burning smell at the panel, a sparking outlet, a service torn off the wall or a dead sump pump with the water rising are all reasons to call at two in the morning. The phone is answered around the clock, often by the owner, and for most Quad Cities calls we are there in under an hour.
Call now for any of these
- A burning or fishy smell coming from a panel, an outlet or a switch
- Sparks, arcing, or a buzzing sound from anything electrical
- A service mast, weatherhead or drop pulled away from the building
- Water reaching a panel, a subpanel or outlets in a flooding basement
- Complete loss of power while the neighbors still have theirs
- A breaker that trips again the instant it is reset
- Smoke, or a scorch mark anywhere on the electrical system
What to do before we arrive
- Switch off what you safely canShut the affected circuit off at the panel if you can reach it without standing in water or touching anything hot or wet.
- Do not keep resetting itA breaker that trips instantly is stopping a fault. Resetting it over and over removes the only protection that circuit has.
- Stay clear of downed linesTreat any wire on the ground as live, keep people and pets well back, and call the utility to report it.
- Tell us what changedWhat was running, what you smelled, what you heard and when it started tells us what to put on the van.
What counts as an emergency
Heat, smell, smoke, sparks, water and anything involving the service entrance are emergencies. A single dead outlet in a spare room is not, and we will say so rather than come out at midnight for it. If you are not sure which one you have, call and describe it, and we will tell you whether it can wait for the morning.
Frequently asked questions
Do you really answer the phone at night?
Yes. Emergency calls are answered around the clock, including weekends and holidays, and in most cases you get the owner rather than an answering service.
What does a burning smell near an outlet mean?
Something is overheating, usually a loose connection arcing behind the device. Switch that circuit off at the panel and call. Do not wait to see whether the smell goes away.
My power is out. Is it the utility or my house?
If the neighbors are lit and you are not, the problem is on your side or at your service. If the whole street is dark, it is the utility. Either way we can usually tell on the phone.
Should I keep resetting a breaker that will not stay on?
No. It is tripping because it is detecting something. Repeated resets stress the breaker and can turn a contained fault into a fire.
Can you make it safe tonight and finish the work later?
That is usually exactly what happens. We isolate the fault and restore whatever can be restored safely, then come back to complete the permanent repair in daylight.
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