What to do right now
If you can smell burning, see scorching, find water near electrical equipment or someone has suffered a shock, we must treat it as an emergency. Don’t touch damaged cables, sockets or the consumer unit; if it’s safe, isolate power at the main switch and keep clear. We’ll help you identify the immediate risk and arrange the right response.
- Burning smell or scorch marks: smoke curling from a socket or blackened plastic around a switch
- Whole street without power: dark homes and streetlights may indicate a network fault—contact your electricity network operator
- Water reaching electrics: standing water beneath sockets, cables or the consumer unit—do not enter the area
- Electric shock: tingling, burns or collapse after contact—call 999, and don’t touch the person until power is isolated
If you can smell burning or see scorching
A burning smell, scorching around a socket or consumer unit, or crackling from electrical equipment can indicate overheating or arcing, so switch off the electricity at the consumer unit only if it’s safe to reach and there’s no smoke or fire. Don’t touch the affected socket, plug, cable or consumer unit cover, and don’t reset a tripped protective device.
If you see smoke, flames or sparking, leave immediately, close doors behind you, call 999 and don’t re-enter. Make certain smoke alarms are operating and warn everyone in the property. Once conditions are safe, we can isolate the damaged circuit and carry out an urgent wiring inspection. We’ll check for heat-damaged terminals, thanington connections, overloaded circuits and degraded cable insulation before any supply is restored. Don’t use extension leads as a temporary substitute.
If the whole street is dark
When the whole street is dark, it’s likely a wider power cut rather than a fault inside your property: check whether neighbouring homes and streetlights are affected, then report the outage to your electricity network operator on 105. Don’t touch any damaged service cables, overhead lines or electrical equipment outside, and keep children away from them.
We recommend switching off sensitive appliances and unplugging non-essential equipment to reduce risk when supply returns. Leave one light switched on so you’ll know when power is restored, but don’t open your consumer unit or attempt repairs. Use torches rather than candles; open flames add avoidable fire risk. Follow official updates and support vulnerable neighbours as part of a safe community response. If street lighting remains out after supply returns, report it to the local authority.
If water has reached the electrics
Treat water near sockets, switches, appliances or the consumer unit as an immediate electrical hazard: don’t touch anything wet or attempt to isolate the supply if you’d need to stand in water. Keep everyone away, stop the water source only if it’s safe, and avoid using electrical equipment nearby.
If you can reach the consumer unit from completely dry ground, switch off the main isolator; otherwise, leave it alone and call us urgently. Don’t reset tripped protective devices, unplug appliances, or dry sockets with towels, heaters or fans. A waterlogged consumerunit requires professional inspection before re-energisation. We’ll test insulation resistance, assess damp wiring, identify contamination and replace damaged components where necessary. Even after surfaces look dry, moisture can remain inside accessories, cables and enclosures, creating tracking, corrosion and fire risk.
If someone has had a shock
If someone has had an electric shock, don’t touch them until the supply is isolated: switch off the main isolator only if you can do so safely from dry ground, or unplug the appliance by its plug. Call 999 immediately if they’re unconscious, having chest pain, breathing difficulties, burns, seizures or persistent tingling. Don’t move them unless there’s immediate danger.
Once isolated, give first aid within your training: check responsiveness and breathing, start CPR if needed, and use an AED when available. Even a person who seems well needs urgent medical assessment after a significant shock, particularly where mains electricity, water or visible burns were involved. During shock recovery, keep them warm, still and monitored; don’t let them drive.
We’ll inspect and isolate the fault before reinstatement. For workplaces, record the incident: legal obligations and employer responsibility may require reporting, investigation and corrective action.
How fast we get to Canterbury
We can dispatch to CT1 and nearby Harbledown, Rough Common, Wincheap, St Dunstan's and Thanington. Our response time depends on engineer availability, incident severity and live traffic, but we’ll assess your location immediately and prioritise electrical fire risks. Tell us whether flames are out, whether the consumer unit has tripped, and if there’s smoke, water damage or exposed cable. Don’t re‑energise circuits, reset switches or touch fire‑damaged equipment. If there’s any continuing fire, smoke or danger to life, call 999 first. Once the premises are safe to enter, we can isolate affected circuits, test for dangerous faults and identify what must remain off.
What an emergency call-out costs
For an electrical fire emergency in Canterbury our out-of-hours call-out rate is £120 per hour including VAT (one-hour minimum); we’ll make the installation safe, isolate affected circuits where necessary, and explain emergency pricing before work starts. We provide a fixed written price for any remedial work before proceeding.
| Job | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency attendance | £120/hr | Labour, VAT |
| First hour | £120 minimum | Initial safety checks |
| Fault finding | £80/hr | Testing and diagnosis |
| Replacement parts | Quoted | Parts, fitting, certification |
Not included: plaster repairs, decoration, asbestos removal, DNO charges, scaffold/access equipment.
Faults we attend most often
- You smell something burning or see smoke coming from a socket or appliance.
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Usually means wiring or an appliance is overheating and could ignite nearby materials.
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You notice brown or dark stains around a plug socket or light switch.
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Often a sign of overheating or arcing at the connection behind the plate.
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A plug feels hot or the plug top is melted when you touch it.
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Typically indicates a poor connection or an overloaded socket causing excessive heat.
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An extension lead or adaptor feels warm, is cracked or the plastic is deformed.
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Usually means the lead is overloaded or damaged and is a fire risk.
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Your lights flicker or dim whenever you switch on the kettle, heater or another high-power appliance.
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Often a sign the circuit is overloaded or connections aren’t coping with the load.
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A particular socket trips the fuse or RCD repeatedly when you plug something in.
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Usually means there is a persistent fault in the socket, the appliance, or an overloaded circuit.
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You smell a faint metallic or burning smell from wall sockets or the consumer unit (fuse box).
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Typically indicates overheating in wiring or terminal connections inside the unit.
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Older wiring insulation looks brittle or crumbles when disturbed (in attics, behind boards or sockets).
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Often means ageing insulation (like rubber/VIR) that needs replacing for safety.
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You discover aluminium wiring or see grey-silver conductors when cables are exposed.
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Usually points to older aluminium wiring, which can develop high-resistance, dangerous connections if not treated.
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Scorch marks or charring on plug pins, cable ends or around the base of appliances.
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Indicates arcing or poor connections that have produced intense heat.
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Appliances trip all the power when they’re switched on, or the house loses power when multiple items run.
- Often an overloaded circuit or a fault causing protective devices to cut power.
What to do: If you smell burning, see smoke or find scorching, isolate power only if it’s safe to do so and call us or emergency services if there’s an active fire. Don’t keep resetting tripping circuits or keep using suspected faulty equipment.
What we can usually fix on the first visit
After making the installation safe, we can often resolve the immediate cause on the first visit: replace a heat-damaged socket or switch, renew burnt terminals, remove a faulty appliance or extension lead from service, repair a thanington connection, or replace a failed protective device where testing confirms it’s appropriate. Socket repair includes inspecting the back box, cable insulation and earthing continuity, not simply fitting a new faceplate. We’ll carry out Fuse replacement only after identifying why it operated or failed; substituting a higher-rated fuse is dangerous and never an acceptable fix. Where circuits test correctly after repairs, we’ll restore supply carefully and provide the relevant certification. If heat has damaged concealed wiring, affected accessories, or the consumer unit, we’ll isolate that section and explain the essential remedial work before anything is re-energised.
Areas we reach fastest
Rapid mobilisation matters after an electrical fire: we’ll prioritise making the installation safe, isolating damaged circuits and checking for heat damage, thanington terminations, smoke contamination and compromised insulation.
Older Victorian properties may contain VIR or rubber cable, while post-war estates can present aluminium wiring concerns. Fire residues and water used during suppression can create conductive, corrosive conditions, including Alkali environments. Don’t re-energise a consumer unit, socket circuit or appliance until we’ve inspected and tested it. If there’s active smoke, sparking or immediate danger, call 999 first.