Emergency Electrician in Falmouth - When to Call and What to Do

Published July 2026 | When you need an emergency electrician

This guide explains how to recognise a genuine electrical emergency, what steps to take immediately to protect yourself and your home, and when you need to call an emergency electrician in Falmouth. It is written for homeowners who are dealing with an unexpected electrical problem and are not sure what their next move should be.

Before You Start - Safety First

Electrical emergencies are among the most dangerous situations a homeowner can face. Before you do anything else, understand this clearly: you should never attempt to investigate or repair live electrical wiring unless you are a qualified electrician. In the UK, the vast majority of electrical installation work is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations, which means it must be carried out or certified by a competent person.

If you can smell burning, see sparks, hear buzzing or crackling from a socket or fitting, or if someone has received an electric shock, treat this as an emergency. Do not touch anything. Your priority is to get people clear of the danger, not to diagnose the fault.

Key safety rules before you do anything:

• Never touch electrical fittings with wet hands or while standing on a wet floor
• Do not attempt to reset a tripped breaker more than once if it keeps tripping
• If there is any risk of fire, call 999 immediately - do not attempt to handle it yourself
• Do not use a socket or appliance you suspect is faulty
• Keep children and pets away from the affected area

What You Will Need

You will not need tools to manage an electrical emergency - this is not a DIY job. What you do need is the right information to hand so you can act quickly and give the electrician everything they need to help you.

Information to have ready:

• The location of your consumer unit (fuse box) - typically under the stairs, in a cupboard, or in the garage
• The age of your property and wiring if you know it - older Cornwall properties, particularly those built before the 1970s, may have wiring systems that are more prone to failure
• A brief description of what happened before the problem started
• Details of any recent electrical work carried out on the property
• Your full address and postcode - have it ready when you call so there is no delay

Time estimate: An emergency electrician in Falmouth can typically be with you within one to four hours, depending on the time of day, engineer availability, and the severity of the call. Out-of-hours response times can be longer, so call as soon as you decide you need help rather than waiting to see if the problem resolves itself.

Step-by-Step - What to Do During an Electrical Emergency

Step 1 - Identify the Type of Emergency

Before you call anyone, take a moment to understand what you are dealing with. Common electrical emergencies fall into a few categories:

• Complete power loss - your whole property has lost power
• Partial power loss - certain circuits or rooms have gone down
• Burning smell or visible scorching - this is serious and needs immediate attention
• Sparking sockets or switches - dangerous and should be treated as urgent
• Electric shock - call 999 first if anyone is injured, then an electrician
• Flooding near electrics - water and electricity together require specialist handling

Knowing which category you are in will help you describe the problem clearly when you call for help, which means the engineer can bring the right equipment and arrive better prepared.

Step 2 - Turn Off the Power at the Consumer Unit

If it is safe to do so, locate your consumer unit and switch off the main isolator switch. This is the large switch usually positioned at the top or far left of the board. Turning this off cuts power to the entire property. Do not attempt to flip individual circuit breakers if you can smell burning or if the board itself looks or smells burnt. In that situation, keep clear and call an electrician immediately.

If you are in Falmouth and you think the issue might be a full street power cut rather than a fault inside your own property, check the National Grid Electricity Distribution outage map before calling a private electrician - you may save yourself a call-out fee.

Step 3 - Remove the Risk Where Possible

Once the power is off, unplug appliances from sockets in the affected area. If the emergency is linked to a specific appliance - say a washing machine or dishwasher that has tripped the circuit - disconnect it and do not use it again until it has been checked by a qualified engineer. Brands such as Bosch, Hotpoint, and Beko do occasionally develop internal faults that trip RCD breakers, and the appliance will need to be inspected or replaced before the circuit can safely be used again.

Step 4 - Check the Consumer Unit for Tripped Breakers

If you have a modern consumer unit with circuit breakers and an RCD (Residual Current Device), look for any switches that are in the off or middle position. A tripped breaker will be obvious - it will not be aligned with the others. You can try resetting it once by flipping it fully off and then back on. If it trips again immediately, something on that circuit is still causing the fault. Leave it switched off and call an electrician rather than attempting to force it back on.

If you have an older property with a fuse box using rewirable fuses, do not attempt to replace the fuse wire yourself. This is a job for a qualified engineer, particularly in older Falmouth homes where the wiring behind the fuse may also need attention.

Step 5 - Log the Issue With the Voltrade GoFIX Tool

Before you call, it is worth using the Voltrade GoFIX diagnostic tool to log the details of what you are experiencing. GoFIX walks you through a structured set of questions about your electrical problem and helps categorise the fault accurately. When our engineers arrive, they already have context on the issue - which saves time on site and can reduce the overall cost of the visit. It also creates a useful record of the fault should you need it for insurance purposes later.

Step 6 - Call an Emergency Electrician

Once you have taken the steps above, call an emergency electrician. When you call, be ready to explain:

• What you can see, smell, or hear
• Whether the power is off or on
• Whether the problem affects the whole property or just part of it
• The age of your property if you know it
• Any recent work that has been carried out on the electrics

Emergency electricians in Falmouth and across the wider Cornwall area typically charge a call-out fee of between 80 and 150 pounds, plus an hourly rate of between 60 and 100 pounds during standard working hours. Out-of-hours rates - evenings, weekends, and bank holidays - are commonly higher, often between 100 and 175 pounds per hour. For a typical emergency fault diagnosis and simple repair, expect to pay between 150 and 400 pounds depending on the complexity of the job and the time of day.

Step 7 - Prepare for the Electrician's Arrival

While you wait, clear access to your consumer unit, the affected circuits, and any related areas. If the issue is in a specific room, make sure there is clear access to it. Have a torch handy if the power is still off. Note down the exact sequence of events that led to the problem - our engineers find this useful when diagnosing faults, particularly with intermittent issues that may not be immediately obvious. Keep children and pets out of the work area throughout the visit.

What to Do If This Does Not Fix It

If the circuit keeps tripping after the engineer has attended, or if the same problem reoccurs within a short period, there is likely an underlying fault that was not fully resolved on the first visit. This can happen with intermittent faults - those caused by loose connections or ageing components that only fail under certain conditions, such as when a heating system kicks in or during heavy rain.

In older Falmouth properties, recurring faults can sometimes indicate that the wiring is starting to degrade across multiple circuits rather than at a single point. In these cases, an engineer may recommend a full Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) to assess the overall state of the wiring. An EICR typically costs between 150 and 300 pounds for a standard domestic property, and it gives you a clear picture of what needs attention and in what order.

If you feel the work done on the first visit was not adequate, you are within your rights to request a second opinion from a different engineer. Always use a qualified electrician who is registered with a competent person scheme such as NICEIC, NAPIT, or ELECSA, and check their registration number on the relevant scheme's website before they start work.

When to Stop and Call a Professional

For any genuine electrical emergency, you should call a professional from the outset. There is no safe DIY intervention available to you that meaningfully changes the situation. The steps in this guide are about managing the risk until help arrives - not about fixing the problem yourself.

Call an emergency electrician without delay if:

• You can see or smell burning from sockets, switches, or your consumer unit
• Any person has received an electric shock - call 999 first in this case
• You have water ingress near electrical fittings or your fuse board
• Your main isolator switch will not stay in the on position
• You have young children or medical equipment in the property that requires a continuous power supply
• You are uncomfortable with any aspect of the situation - your instincts are usually right

Across Cornwall, certain older properties - Victorian terraces, rural cottages, and homes that have not been rewired since the 1970s or 1980s - are more vulnerable to electrical faults simply because of the age of the installation. If your property falls into this category and you have had more than one electrical incident in recent months, do not treat each one as an isolated event. Speak to your engineer about whether a partial or full rewire is worth investigating.

Questions About This Process

How much does an emergency electrician cost in Falmouth?

Emergency electricians in Falmouth typically charge a call-out fee of between 80 and 150 pounds, plus an hourly rate ranging from 60 to 100 pounds during standard hours. Out-of-hours work - evenings, weekends, and bank holidays - commonly attracts higher rates, often between 100 and 175 pounds per hour. The total cost of a typical emergency visit, including diagnosis and a minor repair, usually falls between 150 and 400 pounds. Complex faults or those requiring specialist parts will cost more, so it is worth asking for an estimate before work begins.

Do I need to stay home while waiting for an emergency electrician?

Yes, in most cases you should stay home - or arrange for another adult to be present - while waiting for an emergency electrician. The engineer will need access to your consumer unit, and often to multiple rooms depending on the fault. They will also want to speak with someone who witnessed the problem, as this helps them diagnose the issue much faster. If you cannot be there yourself, make sure someone else is present who can answer questions, grant access to the property, and make decisions about any work needed.

What qualifications should an emergency electrician have?

Any electrician you hire for domestic work in the UK should be registered with a government-approved competent person scheme. Look for registration with NICEIC, NAPIT, or ELECSA - all three are widely recognised and require members to meet defined standards of competence and ongoing assessment. Registration means they can self-certify that their work complies with BS 7671 (the UK Wiring Regulations) without a separate building control application. Always ask to see their credentials before work begins, and verify their registration number directly on the relevant scheme's website.