Skip to content
Emergency Services 24H

Nine emergency trades, one request

The trades we get to your door when something fails

Water coming through a ceiling, no heat in January, a door that will not open. Tell us the trade and your ZIP code and your request goes to licensed, insured contractors who cover it.

Before you request anyone

  1. 1Kill the source. Water at the main valve, power at the breaker, gas at the meter.
  2. 2Fire, gas or injury? Leave and call 911 before anything else.
  3. 3Photograph it before you clean up, or your insurer may not pay.
Request a contractor

The nine trades

Pick the trade that matches what failed

Each page covers the specific failures in that trade, what the repair costs, and what you can safely do before anyone arrives. Every one of them carries the same request form.

Emergency Plumbing

Burst pipes, no water, water-heater failures. We get a licensed plumber to your ZIP code and tell you the rate first.
Water Damage & Restoration

Flooded basements and the 24-48 hour mold clock. Certified restoration crews, plus what your insurer will actually cover.
Emergency HVAC

No heat in January, no cooling in July, or a carbon-monoxide warning. HVAC techs dispatched around the clock.
Lockout & Locksmith

Locked out of a house or car, or need locks changed tonight. Vetted locksmiths, quoted up front, no bait-and-switch.
Emergency Electrical

Breakers that will not reset, burning smells, sparking outlets. Licensed electricians for the faults you must not touch.
Appliance Repair

Fridge, washer, dryer and oven failures, with the repair-or-replace math before a technician is dispatched.
Garage Door

A snapped torsion spring, a door off its track, a car shut in. Garage door technicians and honest spring pricing.
Pest Emergencies

A wasp nest by the door, a sudden rodent problem, bed bugs. Licensed exterminators, same-day where available.
Storm, Roof & Tree

A roof leaking mid-storm or a tree on the house. Emergency tarping, tree removal, and documentation for the claim.

What does Emergency Services 24H actually do?

We are a referral service for home emergencies. You describe the failure and give a ZIP code; we route the request to independent contractors who hold a current license for that trade in your area, and they contact you directly to quote and schedule. We do not employ the technicians and we do not perform the work. Submitting is free, there is no obligation to hire, and contractors pay us the referral fee rather than you.

Home emergencies punish delay more than almost any other household problem. A supply line that lets go at 2am moves clean category-1 water through drywall and subfloor for hours, and the 24 to 48 hour window before mold begins starts the moment it does. A furnace that fails in a cold snap can freeze a supply line and turn a $400 ignitor into a $6,000 burst-pipe claim. The value of a fast, correct dispatch is not convenience, it is the size of the eventual repair.

The problem is that finding a trustworthy trade at 2am is genuinely hard. Directories are stuffed with national call centers that subcontract to whoever answers, and the locksmith category in particular has a well-documented bait-and-switch pattern where a quoted $29 service call becomes $350 at the door. So this site does two things: it publishes the real price ranges and the safety steps before it asks you for anything, and it routes your request only to contractors whose license and liability cover we have actually checked.

What happens after you submit a request Step 1, You describe it: Trade, ZIP code, what failed, how soon you need someone. Step 2, We match: Routed to contractors licensed for that trade in your ZIP code. Step 3, They call you: The contractor contacts you directly and quotes the job. Step 4, You decide: Hire, or do not. No fee to you either way. What happens after you submit a request 1 You describe it Trade, ZIP code, whatfailed, how soon you needsomeone. 2 We match Routed to contractorslicensed for that trade inyour ZIP code. 3 They call you The contractor contacts youdirectly and quotes thejob. 4 You decide Hire, or do not. No fee toyou either way. Emergency Services 24H is paid a referral fee by the contractor. You pay nothing for the match.
The referral chain, including the step where your details reach a third-party contractor. Nothing is passed on until you submit the form.

Which failures are actually emergencies

Not every broken thing needs a contractor tonight, and being told otherwise is how people end up paying an after-hours premium for a repair that could have waited until Tuesday. The dividing line is whether the situation is getting worse on its own.

Is this an emergency, or can it wait until morning? Stop. Call 911 first: Any smell of gas, indoors or at the meter; Smoke, sparks, or a burning smell from a panel or outlet; Water reaching outlets, a panel, or a running appliance; A carbon monoxide alarm sounding; A tree or structural member through the roof or a wall; Anyone injured, or symptoms of CO exposure. Contractor tonight: Water actively entering the building and not stopping; No heat with outdoor temperatures near or below freezing; A sewage backup into the living space; Locked out of the house overnight or in extreme weather; A garage door jammed open on a ground-floor entry; A breaker that will not reset on a circuit you need. Can wait for an appointment: A slow drip you can catch in a bucket; One appliance failed but nothing else is affected; A garage door that works but sounds wrong; AC underperforming in mild weather; A wasp nest away from doors and walkways; Cosmetic damage after the water is already stopped Is this an emergency, or can it wait until morning? Stop. Call 911 first Leave the building Any smell of gas, indoors or atthe meter Smoke, sparks, or a burning smellfrom a panel or outlet Water reaching outlets, a panel,or a running appliance A carbon monoxide alarm sounding A tree or structural memberthrough the roof or a wall Anyone injured, or symptoms of COexposure Contractor tonight Damage is compounding Water actively entering thebuilding and not stopping No heat with outdoor temperaturesnear or below freezing A sewage backup into the livingspace Locked out of the house overnightor in extreme weather A garage door jammed open on aground-floor entry A breaker that will not reset on acircuit you need Can wait for an appointment Book in normal hours A slow drip you can catch in abucket One appliance failed but nothingelse is affected A garage door that works butsounds wrong AC underperforming in mild weather A wasp nest away from doors andwalkways Cosmetic damage after the water isalready stopped When in doubt, treat it as the more serious lane. A false alarm costs nothing.
If a situation sits between two lanes, treat it as the more serious one. A callback you did not need costs nothing; a delayed gas leak can cost everything.

What emergency work costs

These are national ranges for after-hours work, drawn from published 2026 cost data and cross-checked against prices homeowners report on trade forums and review sites. Treat them as a sanity check on a quote, not as a promise. Region, time of day, equipment age and access all move the number, and a diagnostic fee is usually separate until the contractor credits it against the repair.

Typical after-hours emergency call-out ranges (US, 2026) Locksmith, house lockout: $75 to $250, most often around $150. Emergency plumber, call-out: $150 to $650, most often around $350. Emergency electrician: $150 to $700, most often around $400. Garage door spring pair: $200 to $600, most often around $350. HVAC after-hours repair: $150 to $800, most often around $450. Water damage, first response: $450 to $3,500, most often around $1,400. Source: Aggregated 2026 US cost guides, cross-checked against UGC-reported prices. Typical after-hours emergency call-out ranges (US, 2026) Includes the emergency call-out premium. Parts and major replacement are extra. $0 $500 $1k $1.5k $2k $2.5k $3k $3.5k Locksmith, house lockout $75–$250 Emergency plumber, call-out $150–$650 Emergency electrician $150–$700 Garage door spring pair $200–$600 HVAC after-hours repair $150–$800 Water damage, first response $450–$3,500 Most commonly reported figure Source: Aggregated 2026 US cost guides, cross-checked against UGC-reported prices
Water damage carries the widest spread because the first response bill depends on how much water moved and how long it sat. Every other trade clusters much more tightly.

The three questions that stop an overcharge

Ask all three on the phone, before anyone is dispatched. A contractor who will not answer them plainly is telling you something useful.

  • What is the diagnostic or call-out fee, and is it credited against the repair if I go ahead?
  • Is the rate quoted the after-hours rate, or does it change once someone is on site?
  • What is your state license number, and are you insured for this trade?

24/7 dispatch network

Tell us what failed

One form covers all nine trades. Give us the ZIP code and the symptom and we route it to contractors licensed for that work in your area.

Fire, a gas smell, or an injury? Leave the building and call 911 first, then your gas utility or power company. Use this form once you are safe.

By submitting this request you agree that Emergency Services 24H and the licensed contractors in its network may contact you at the phone number and email you provided, including by automated dialing system, prerecorded message, or text. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Message and data rates may apply. You can opt out at any time. See our privacy policy and terms.

Free to submit. No obligation to hire.

Brass main water shut-off valve with a red lever on a copper riser

While you wait for the callback

Find your main water shut-off before you need it, not during. In most US homes it is where the supply enters the building, on the street side of the meter, or in a basement or crawlspace near the front foundation wall. In slab-on-grade homes across the South and Southwest it is more often in an exterior box at the property line.

Turning that one valve is the difference between a wet ceiling and a gutted floor. Here is how to find and turn yours.

Straight answers

Questions homeowners ask before they submit

The questions homeowners actually search for on this problem, answered in plain language.

Browse all guides
How fast can someone actually get here?

For an active emergency in a metro area, most contractors in the network call back within the hour and can be on site the same evening. Rural ZIP codes and severe-weather events stretch that, because every plumber within fifty miles is already dispatched. If nobody has called you within an hour, contact us and we re-route the request.

Does it cost anything to submit a request?

No. The request is free and there is no obligation to hire whoever calls you. Emergency Services 24H is paid a referral fee by the contractor, not by you. What you pay is whatever you and the contractor agree, and you should always get that in writing before work starts.

Are the contractors licensed and insured?

Contractors are checked for a current state license in the trade we refer them for and for liability insurance. That check is a snapshot, not a warranty of their work on your job, so verify the license number with your state board and confirm coverage before you authorize anything. Those two checks take five minutes and are the best protection you have.

What if I only want a price, not a visit?

Say so in the description field. Many contractors will give a ballpark over the phone once they know the symptom, the age of the equipment and your ZIP code. A firm number almost always needs eyes on the failure, especially for anything behind a wall or under a slab.

Do you cover my area?

The network is nationwide and routes on your ZIP code. Coverage is deepest in metro areas and thinner for some trades in rural counties. If we cannot match your ZIP for that trade, we tell you rather than sitting on the request.

What happens to my phone number?

It goes to the contractors matched to your request so they can call you, and it is used by us to follow up on whether anyone reached you. It is not sold to advertisers or data brokers. The privacy policy sets out retention and how to have your details deleted.

Is this the same as calling a franchise like Roto-Rooter?

No. A franchise sends its own branded crew. We are a referral service that matches you to independent local contractors, which usually means a wider spread of pricing and availability. The trade-off is that you are comparing several small businesses rather than one national brand.

Should I use this form if I smell gas?

No. Leave the building, then call 911 and your gas utility from outside. Do not flip switches, do not use the garage door opener, and do not wait for a contractor callback. Come back to the form once the utility has made the property safe.

24/7 dispatch network

Get a licensed contractor moving

Free to submit, no obligation to hire, and a real person on the phone rather than a callback queue.

Fire, a gas smell, or an injury? Leave the building and call 911 first, then your gas utility or power company. Use this form once you are safe.

By submitting this request you agree that Emergency Services 24H and the licensed contractors in its network may contact you at the phone number and email you provided, including by automated dialing system, prerecorded message, or text. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Message and data rates may apply. You can opt out at any time. See our privacy policy and terms.

Free to submit. No obligation to hire.