Emergency electrician in Central NJ
A 24/7 emergency electrician fixes electrical problems that cannot wait. When you call Harrelson Electric, Bruce picks up the phone. Not a call center. Not a dispatcher. You talk to the master electrician who will do the work. Bruce has been in the trade since 1988. That is 38 years of fixing real problems in real homes and buildings.
We serve Central NJ. That means Middlesex, Somerset, Mercer, Monmouth, and Union counties. Most days we reach you in one to two hours. We carry NJ Electrical Contractor License #15918. We are bonded and insured.
What counts as an electrical emergency
Some problems can wait a day or two. Some cannot. Call right away if you see any of these.
- You lost power to part of the house or the whole house.
- An outlet is sparking or making a popping sound.
- You smell burning or hot plastic near an outlet or panel.
- A whole circuit is dead and will not come back.
- A breaker keeps tripping again and again.
- Your electrical panel is buzzing, humming, or warm to the touch.
What to do before Bruce arrives
You can keep yourself safe while you wait. Here are the steps.
First, find the breaker that controls the bad circuit. Turn it off. This cuts power to the problem area. Leave it off. Do not flip it back on to test it. Resetting a breaker over and over is dangerous. The breaker trips for a reason. It is doing its job.
Second, stay away from any outlet that sparks or smells hot. Do not touch it. Do not plug anything else into it.
Third, if you smell smoke or see flames, get out. Call 911 first. Call us second. Your safety comes before the wiring.
Do not pour water on an electrical fire. Water carries current. Use a fire extinguisher rated for electrical fires if you have one and it is safe to do so.
When to call 911 instead of an electrician
Call 911 first if there is active fire, heavy smoke, or someone is hurt. The fire department handles fire. A shock injury needs a doctor. We handle the wiring after the danger is gone.
Call us for power loss, sparking, dead circuits, a tripping breaker, or a buzzing panel with no fire. We find the cause and fix it. We do not just reset the breaker and leave. A breaker that keeps tripping means something is wrong upstream. It could be a bad outlet, a shorted wire, or too much load on one circuit. We trace it back to the source.
Why people call us at 2 a.m.
Power problems do not keep business hours. A panel can fail on a Sunday. An outlet can spark in the middle of the night. You want one person who knows your area and shows up. With us, you get Bruce every time. No subcontractors. No new face each visit.
We work with PSE&G and JCP&L when the problem reaches the utility side. If the trouble is at the meter or the line, we know who to call and what to say. If it is inside your walls, we handle it.
Common causes we find at night
A lot of emergency calls trace back to a few things. An old panel can wear out and start to buzz. A water leak can reach wiring and short it out. A space heater or window unit can pull more power than the circuit can hold. A loose wire behind an outlet can spark and heat up. Squirrels and rodents chew wire in attics and walls.
We do not guess. Bruce checks the panel, tests the circuit, and finds the real cause. Once he knows what failed, he tells you the fix and the price. Then he does the work. You are not left waiting for a second visit when the danger is still in your wall.
Renters and landlords
Emergency power problems hit rental units too. If you rent, call your landlord first since the wiring is their job. If you own the building, call us. We can wire the repair and give you a record of the work for your files. Multi-family buildings have their own rules and we know them.
There is no fixed price for emergency work. Every call is different. Bruce gives you a straight answer once he sees the problem. No surprise charges.
Call Harrelson Electric any time at (800) 732-0585.
