Emergency Electrician London, Available 24/7
If you’ve lost power, smelled burning, or found a socket that’s sparking, you don’t need a lecture on electrical safety, you need someone to answer the phone. First Strike Electrical Ltd runs a genuine 24 hour emergency electrician service across London, every day of the year, and as an NICEIC approved contractor since 1999, the electrician who turns up is properly qualified, not just the nearest available person.
Electrical emergencies don’t wait for convenient hours, and neither do we. Whether it’s 2am on a Sunday or the middle of a bank holiday, if it’s genuinely urgent, call us.
If you can smell gas, this page isn’t for you
Leave the property, don’t operate any switches, and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 immediately.
Electrical and gas emergencies can sometimes present similarly, and gas leaks need a different, faster response than a normal electrician can provide.
What Counts as an Electrical Emergency
Not every electrical problem is genuinely urgent, and knowing the difference matters, both for your safety and so emergency callout resources go where they’re actually needed. As a general guide, these are the situations worth calling us immediately for:
Total loss of power
with no obvious cause (and your supplier has confirmed there’s no wider power cut in your area).
A consumer unit that trips repeatedly
and won’t reset, particularly if you can’t identify or isolate the circuit causing it.
Burning smells
from a socket, switch, appliance, or the consumer unit itself, especially with no obvious source like an actual overheating appliance you can simply switch off.
Visible sparking
from a socket or switch, or exposed live wiring following damage, building work, or an accident.
Water ingress near electrics,
such as a leak or flood affecting sockets, a consumer unit, or wiring, which creates a genuine shock risk.
Storm or accident damage
that’s exposed wiring, damaged a supply, or brought down a cable.
By contrast, a single light bulb that’s blown, a socket that’s never worked and isn’t urgent, or a minor issue that can reasonably wait until normal hours for a scheduled visit isn’t generally an emergency, even if it’s frustrating. If you’re not sure which category your situation falls into, call us and describe what’s happening. We’d rather talk it through for two minutes than have you wait unnecessarily for an emergency callout, or underestimate something that’s actually serious.
What to Do While You Wait for an Electrician
If it’s safe to do so, isolate the affected circuit or the whole supply at the consumer unit. This is usually the single most useful thing you can do, both to stop the problem getting worse and to make things safer for whoever attends.
Don’t touch exposed wiring, damaged sockets, or anything showing signs of heat or scorching.
Keep pets and children away from the affected area until it’s been checked.
If you’re in a flat or shared building and you’re not sure whether the fault is in your own supply or a shared part of the building, mention this when you call, it changes who might need to be involved.
If there is any sign of fire
Actual flames, thick smoke, or a strong persistent burning smell you can’t identify and isolate: treat it as a fire emergency. Get everyone out of the property and call 999. Deal with the fire brigade first; the electrical fault gets sorted afterwards.
Our Emergency Response
When you call our emergency line, you’ll speak to someone who can talk you through immediate safety steps and get an electrician on the way. We aim to get to genuinely urgent jobs as quickly as we reasonably can, prioritising situations involving real safety risk, such as exposed wiring or complete loss of power, over less urgent out-of-hours callouts. We’ll always be upfront with you about how long it’s likely to take before someone can attend, rather than leaving you guessing.
Once an electrician arrives, the priority is always to make the situation safe first, whether that means isolating a faulty circuit, making exposed wiring safe, or restoring power where it can be done safely. A full permanent repair sometimes follows immediately, and sometimes needs a follow-up visit once parts are sourced or more extensive work is scoped, but you’ll never be left with an actively unsafe situation.
After the Emergency: What Happens Next
Making a situation safe during an emergency callout is the first priority, but it isn’t always the end of the story. Depending on what caused the fault, our electrician might carry out a permanent repair on the spot, or explain that a follow-up visit is needed, for example if a replacement part needs to be sourced, or if the emergency has revealed a wider issue, such as an ageing consumer unit that’s due for replacement rather than another temporary fix.
You’ll always be told clearly which situation you’re in, and given a proper quote for any follow-up work rather than being pressured into an on-the-spot decision while you’re still dealing with the stress of the original emergency. Where the work carried out is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations, you’ll receive the correct certification once it’s complete.
Why Call First Strike Electrical in an Emergency
Genuinely available 24/7, not a message service that calls you back in the morning.
NICEIC approved, so the electrician attending is assessed against national standards, not just self-declared as competent.
Trading in London since 1999, meaning our emergency team has generally already seen your specific type of fault before, in similar London properties.
Honest pricing, including out of hours. Emergency and out-of-hours work naturally costs more than a scheduled daytime appointment, which is standard across the trade, but we’ll always tell you clearly what you’re paying for before we start, rather than presenting a surprise invoice once the job’s already done.
We make things safe, we don’t just paper over the problem. An emergency callout that leaves the underlying fault untouched isn’t actually solving anything. We aim to properly diagnose what caused the emergency, not just reset it and leave.
Common Emergency Callouts We Deal With Across London
Old or overloaded consumer units failing under modern demand.
Especially relevant in older London properties never designed for today’s number of appliances, chargers, and devices.
Water-damaged electrics
following leaks from flats above, storm damage, or flooding, which is a particular risk in basement and ground floor properties across London.
Faults following building or renovation work,
where wiring has been disturbed, nicked, or incorrectly reconnected by another trade.
Sudden loss of power to part of a property,
often traced to a faulty circuit, a failed connection, or in some cases a fault on the supplier’s side that isn’t actually ours to fix, which we’ll tell you honestly if that’s what we find.
Sparking or scorched sockets and switches,
sometimes linked to loose connections that have been developing unnoticed for some time before finally failing.
Warning Signs an Electrical Emergency Might Be on Its Way
Some emergencies happen with no warning at all, but a fair number give small signals beforehand that are easy to miss or dismiss. Lights that dim briefly when a large appliance switches on, a consumer unit that’s warm to the touch, a faint but recurring smell near a specific socket, or a switch that’s started to feel loose or makes a crackling noise when operated are all worth getting checked before they become a 2am emergency call.
Catching these early is almost always cheaper and considerably less stressful than dealing with the full failure. If you notice any of these and you’re not sure whether it warrants an emergency callout or a scheduled visit, call us and describe what you’re seeing.
Emergency Cover Across London
Because genuine emergencies need a fast response, being based centrally in Marylebone, in the City of Westminster, means we can generally reach addresses across central London quickly, and we cover emergency callouts further into Greater London as well. When you call, tell us your address and we’ll give you an honest estimate of attendance time before you commit to anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly can you get to an emergency?
It depends on your location, the time of day, and how many emergency calls we’re handling at once, but we prioritise genuine safety-critical situations and will always tell you an honest estimated attendance time when you call, rather than a vague reassurance.
Is emergency callout more expensive than a normal appointment?
Generally yes, as is standard across the trade for out-of-hours and emergency work, but we’ll always be upfront about pricing before starting, so you’re never caught out by the final bill.
What if I’m not sure whether it’s actually an emergency?
Call us and describe what’s happening. We’d genuinely rather talk it through than have you either wait unnecessarily with something urgent, or panic-call an expensive emergency callout for something that can safely wait.
Should I call an electrician or the fire brigade first?
If there’s any actual fire, thick smoke, or immediate danger to life, call 999 first, every time. Electrical faults get sorted once everyone is safely out and the fire service has confirmed it’s safe to do so.
Do you cover emergencies for landlords with tenants in the property?
Yes, we regularly deal directly with tenants on a landlord’s behalf during an emergency, then update the landlord or managing agent on what was found and what’s needed. Just let us know the arrangement when you call.
What should I do if I smell gas rather than an electrical fault?
Leave the property, don’t operate any electrical switches on your way out, and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. This isn’t something an electrician should be your first call for.
Will you fix the problem permanently during the emergency callout, or just make it safe?
It depends on the fault. Many issues can be fully repaired during the initial callout, but some, particularly where a part needs sourcing or the emergency has revealed a bigger underlying problem, need a follow-up visit. Either way, the property is always left safe before we leave, and we’ll explain clearly what’s needed next.
Do you charge a call-out fee even if the fault turns out to be minor?
Pricing for emergency and out-of-hours work will always be explained to you clearly before the electrician starts, so you know what you’re agreeing to. Call our emergency line directly for specifics relevant to your situation and the time you’re calling.
The Urgent Work We Are Called Out For
What an emergency call-out usually turns out to involve, explained page by page.
We work across central, west, north west and south west London — see every area we cover.
Emergency? Call Now
If it’s genuinely urgent, don’t wait. Isolate the circuit if it’s safe to do so, and call us now.
Available 24 hours a day, every day, including bank holidays.
Call 07931 388 466First Strike Electrical Ltd