EZSMART Corporation, ESA/ECRA #7012690 , North York , Ontario
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You smell smoke, look down, and see flames curling around the base of a lamp or the back of an outlet. Every second counts, but doing the wrong thing in the first minute can turn a small electrical fire into a house fire or, worse, kill you. This guide walks you through exactly how to put out an electrical fire in a Toronto or GTA home while keeping yourself and your family alive.
Cut power to that circuit at the breaker panel, smother a small flame with a Class C or ABC dry-chemical fire extinguisher, and call 911 from outside the house. If the flames are already bigger than a dinner plate, or you cannot safely reach the panel, get everyone out first and call 911. A burning building is replaceable. You are not.
If you are not sure which breaker feeds a given room, learn how in our step-by-step on how to safely turn off power. Knowing your panel by heart before an emergency happens is worth an hour on a Saturday.
Water conducts electricity. If any part of the wiring is still energized, water will carry the current back to your hand, through your chest, and to whatever is grounded on the other side of the puddle. It will also spread the fire by splashing burning insulation and plastic around the room.
The only situation where water is acceptable is after a licensed electrician or the fire department has physically confirmed the circuit is dead. Until then, treat every wire in that room as live. The same logic is why you should never mix water and unprotected outlets even during normal operation.
The correct extinguisher for an electrical fire is one rated Class C or a multi-purpose ABC. These use a non-conductive dry chemical, so the discharge does not carry current back to you. Every home in Ontario should have at least one ABC extinguisher, ideally on each floor and within reach of the kitchen and utility room.
Extinguishers you should not use on a live electrical fire:
Remember the acronym PASS: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, Sweep side to side. Aiming at the flame tops just chases smoke.
If the fire is small, still contained to one outlet or device, and you have already cut power at the breaker, you can smother it. Cover the flame with a heavy, non-synthetic cloth like a wool blanket, a cast iron pan lid, or a large fistful of baking soda. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same active ingredient in dry-chemical extinguishers.
Do not use flour, sugar, or any powdered starch. They look like baking soda but they will feed the fire.
If any of the following are true, stop trying to fight it and evacuate:
The Electrical Safety Authority’s annual Ontario Electrical Safety Report consistently ranks electrical distribution equipment such as wiring, panels, and receptacles among the leading causes of residential fires and fire-related deaths in the province. The Office of the Fire Marshal echoes the same finding year after year. Most of those fires start small at a failed connection, then travel through wiring inside a wall before anyone sees a flame.
That is why the response order matters. Cutting power first stops the ignition source. Smothering or extinguishing second stops the visible flame. Calling the fire department third handles anything already burning inside the wall cavity, which you cannot see and cannot reach.
Every fire we get called out to inspect the day after has one thing in common: the homeowner turned the breaker back on to see if it was safe. Do not do that. Once a wire has burned through its insulation, the copper is now a bare conductor sitting inside a wooden wall cavity, often touching lath, insulation, or a nail plate. Re-energizing that circuit is how a fire that looked out at 8pm becomes an attic fire at 2am. Leave the breaker off, tape the handle in the off position with electrical tape, and wait for a licensed contractor to open the wall and confirm the cable is safe. The Ontario Electrical Safety Code also requires a defect notification be filed for any damaged wiring found during that inspection.
Class C or multi-purpose ABC. Never use water or Class A extinguishers.
Yes on a small contained flame, after cutting power. Sodium bicarbonate matches the active ingredient in dry-chemical extinguishers.
Flames larger than a dinner plate, inside a wall or panel, or spreading. Get out and call 911.
No. The wiring is likely damaged and re-energizing can reignite it. Leave the breaker off.
Yes. Damaged cable in the wall cavity is often hidden and dangerous.
Recovering from an electrical fire in the GTA, or want a pre-emptive inspection of your panel and outlets so it never happens? Call ezsmart at 416-838-9006 or visit our contact page. A licensed Ontario electrician will get back to you the same day and, in an emergency, we can dispatch to your address across Toronto and the surrounding cities.
Electrician Since 2008 Journeyman Electrician Designated Master Electrician at EZSMART Corp
