What would you do if you woke in the middle of the night to the faint smell of burning but couldn’t find out where it was coming from? Or perhaps you’re preparing dinner when suddenly your entire power supply fails? If you detect any unusual burning odours, experience unexpected power outages, or notice any other electrical irregularities in your home, whatever you do, don’t attempt to fix the problem yourself.
These warning signs could indicate serious electrical faults that pose significant fire risks to your property – and to you! The solution is straightforward – call us immediately. As experts in handling electrical emergencies, we’ve encountered countless dangerous situations where prompt, professional intervention prevented a catastrophe.
Not sure if you have an electrical problem? Call us anyway. When you do, you’ll speak directly with a qualified electrician who can help determine what’s going on – at no charge. The stories below show how this approach has saved our customers time and money by addressing issues as soon as possible.
From melting switchboards to rodent saboteurs, these emergency responses often reveal some of the most challenging problems an electrician faces. While not every emergency involves floodwaters or dramatic rescues, they often require the same level of quick thinking and creative problem-solving to prevent potential disasters.
Don’t ignore the burning smell!
The days between Christmas and New Year usually bring a welcome lull in emergency electrical callouts. But that’s precisely why we maintain a response team on standby – electrical emergencies don’t take holidays. Sure enough, the phone rang just as our on-call electrician was settling in for what looked to be another quiet festive season afternoon. The emergency call came in when a homeowner discovered they had lost power to their property – and they could smell burning.
It’s one of the most worrying situations we encounter, so we must always act fast and decisively.
Upon initial inspection, the situation presented a puzzling scenario.
“We went and had a look, and it was strange because all the fuses were still live,” said Nick from French Electrical, “Counties Energy had been called with no issues reported, so we had to investigate further.”
The team began methodically tracing the fault, suspecting an issue with the mains cable, as no power entered the house. Their thorough investigation led to a concerning discovery.
“We traced that cable and found there was a fault inside the wall. We had to start cutting it open and found the cable was still live and arcing. It had been smouldering away inside the wall for most of the night. The wood was charred and on fire,” he explained.
“Luckily we could get in there, stop the fire, re-run a new mains cable, join it in, reline it, and they had power again.” said Nick.
Tree on the lines – a team effort
When we got an emergency call on a recent Sunday morning, it was an ‘all hands-on deck’ moment. We rushed to what was potentially a very dangerous situation – damaged live wires and cabling caused by a huge tree branch that had fallen across the lines in a residential street. We worked together with infrastructure owner, Vector, who sorted out the main street cabling, while the French Electrical and BW Henderson teams (both under the French Group umbrella) were responsible for reattaching the main cabling to the old wooden villa. This required isolating the switchboard for any power surges, carrying out rigorous safety checks before we attached the main cable, and then testing and re-testing the current. For us, it was satisfying to know our teams could swiftly work together in an emergency.
A DIY job goes wrong
During a recent callout, we attended a property where the hot water cylinder had stopped working, and there was a distinct smell of burning. Despite dismantling the cylinder (see the image of the burnt-out element), our team initially couldn’t locate the source of the smell.
After investigating, we discovered that a home handyman had relocated the hot water cylinder from the upper to the lower floor, but they had left the isolating switch in the roof space. When the hot water cylinder malfunctioned and burnt out, the isolator switch in the roof also melted from the electrical load – it’s a serious fire hazard. By law, this switch should always be positioned next to the hot water heater, and this dangerous set-up highlights one of the reasons why – precious time was wasted trying to find it, nearly resulting in a house fire. Our team promptly installed and wired up a new hot water tank, isolated the old wiring in the roof to ensure it no longer carried current, and replaced the isolating switch – correctly positioning it beside the cylinder.
Gnawing wires, twitching tails
As electricians, we have quickly learnt to overcome any squeamishness about rodents – they’re one of the most common causes of electrical failures, and their handiwork can be dangerous. While you don’t often come face to face with the culprits themselves (though our team has had more than a few surprise encounters when opening switchboards in rural pump rooms), you certainly see the evidence of their destructive habits.
“We often find that mice like to get behind ovens because it’s nice and warm,” explains Chris French, owner of French Electrical, recounting numerous cases where routine oven repairs have revealed unwelcome surprises. “You’ll pull open the back of an oven and find a dead mouse in there. It’s just part of the job.”
One particularly memorable callout for our guys involved some homeowners who were baffled by their fridge repeatedly tripping the circuit device—a sure sign that something wasn’t right. After checking the obvious points of failure at the power outlet, our electrician headed into the roof space to trace the cable.
He turned the power off and followed the wire down the wall as far as possible. When he gently pulled on the cable, it just disintegrated in his hands. A mouse had been busy in the cavity, methodically chewing through the insulation and wiring. Without the protection of the circuit device, this kind of damage could easily have led to a fire within the walls.
After identifying the cause of the problem, we got to work replacing the damaged wiring. The chewed cable was removed, and new wiring was installed. To prevent future damage, we advised the homeowners to seal entry points and implement pest control measures.
With the repairs complete, we tested the circuit before restoring power. The fridge was back up and running safely with no more tripping.
Our emergency electrical response requires round-the-clock readiness. Our team address a wide range of urgent issues, from failed hot water elements to unexplained power outages. When you call French Electrical, you speak directly with a qualified electrician who can determine whether your situation needs a rapid response.
We always have a skilled electrician on call – contact us for an immediate response.