24-Hour Emergency Electrician in Tampa, FL

After a Lightning Strike: What to Check and What to Document

Lightning strikes on or near Tampa Bay homes are common enough that we have a routine for them. The immediate signs are obvious: tripped breakers, dead outlets, a blown surge device, an air conditioner that will not start, a garage door opener or doorbell that died, scorch marks at the meter or the panel. The hidden damage is the concern. A strike can weld a breaker's contacts so it no longer trips, carbonize insulation inside a wall so a fault appears weeks later, and damage the grounding system. If you smell anything burning after a strike, or if the panel is warm or discolored, shut off the main and call us immediately. Otherwise, call us the same day for an inspection before you start resetting things.

Our post-strike assessment covers the service entrance and meter, the panel bus and every breaker, the surge device, the grounding electrode system, a sample of outlets and switches on every circuit, the air conditioner disconnect and contactor, pool and well equipment, and any outbuildings. We use thermal imaging to find connections that are heating after the event. The goal is to find every damaged component before it fails on its own, and to produce a written, photographed report you can hand to your insurance adjuster. Lightning damage is typically a covered peril on Florida homeowner policies, and a licensed electrician's documentation makes the claim straightforward.

Replacement of a surge protective device that sacrificed itself is part of the repair, and if the home had no surge protection, this is the moment most homeowners add it; our surge protection page covers the options. We also coordinate with your HVAC company when the air conditioner's board or compressor was hit, because the electrical side of that repair, the disconnect, the whip and the breaker, is ours. Keep every receipt and every photo. Adjusters respond well to a clear timeline from a licensed contractor, and we are glad to speak with them directly.

Call Now, Any Hour, Anywhere in Tampa Bay

We dispatch from Tampa and typically reach Hillsborough County homes within 60 to 90 minutes, with Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Manatee a bit longer depending on distance and the hour. Check your town on our service areas page. For an electrical emergency, do not use the contact form; call (813) 897-2665 directly and a Tampa Bay electrician will answer.

Some Electrical Problems Cannot Wait Until Morning

Most electrical work can be scheduled. Some of it cannot. A burning smell coming from a wall, sparks from an outlet, a panel that is humming and warm to the touch, a breaker that trips the instant you reset it, half the house suddenly dead, or a service mast torn off the roof in a storm: these are the calls where waiting until Monday means risking a fire, electrocution or thousands of dollars in destroyed electronics. Lightning Bay Electric runs 24-hour emergency electrical service across Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Manatee counties, seven days a week, holidays included.

We are family owned and operated, based in Tampa, licensed by the Florida DBPR under EC13013571 and fully insured. When you call, you reach a Tampa Bay electrician, not an answering service reading a script. We will tell you immediately what to do to make the situation safe, give you an honest ETA, and dispatch a truck stocked with breakers, devices, wire, connectors and the common panel parts that resolve most emergencies in a single visit.

What to Do Right Now, Before We Arrive

If you see flames or heavy smoke, get everyone out of the house and call 911 before you call anyone else. For anything short of that, the first move is almost always the same: shut off the breaker for the affected circuit, or the main breaker if you cannot tell which one it is. A burning smell, a sparking outlet or a hot switch means a connection is overheating, and removing power stops the heat. Do not reset a breaker that trips instantly; it is tripping because there is a fault, and forcing it closed feeds that fault. Do not touch a panel that is wet or that you can hear arcing inside. Unplug computers, televisions and other sensitive electronics if lights are flickering or brightening, because that pattern can mean a lost neutral pushing high voltage to some outlets.

If a storm has pulled the service mast or meter off the house, or a tree has brought down the drop, stay well away from it, keep everyone clear, and call us and the utility. Do not attempt to push the mast back up. If your home has flooded and water reached the outlets or the panel, do not wade in to reset anything; treat the water as energized until the power is confirmed off. Our troubleshooting page explains what the most common symptoms usually mean, but when in doubt, call (813) 897-2665 and we will walk you through it.