London Heroes — home

Emergency mode

First, make it safe. Then we’ll get you help.

Take 60 seconds on the safety steps below — they prevent most of the damage. Then send an urgent request: we take them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our team reviews every urgent request and matches it to an available verified Hero where we can. Response times depend on availability, location and job type.

If you smell gas, or a carbon monoxide alarm sounds: don't smoke, light a flame or touch light switches, open the doors and windows, turn the gas off at the meter if you can reach it safely and it isn't in a cellar or basement, get everyone out, and call the National Gas Emergency Service free on 0800 111 999 before anything else — before calling us.

If anything is smoking or alight: get everyone out and call 999 first.

Request urgent helpGet your free Emergency Card
A verified tradesperson with an ID lanyard and tool bag arriving at a warmly lit front door on a London terraced street at dusk, their van parked at the kerb

Before anyone arrives

Smell gas?

  1. 1Don't smoke or strike a match, and put out any naked flame
  2. 2Don't touch light switches, sockets or anything electrical
  3. 3Open doors and windows
  4. 4Turn the gas off at the meter, a quarter turn of the handle on the pipe beside it — unless the meter is in a cellar or basement: don't go down to it
  5. 5Leave the property
  6. 6Call the National Gas Emergency line FREE on 0800 111 999 — before anything else

Water you can't stop?

  1. 1Turn off the stopcock (usually under the kitchen sink or near the front door)
  2. 2If water has reached anything electrical, switch off at the consumer unit (fuse box) — but only if you can reach it without standing in water, and it isn't wet itself
  3. 3Turn off the boiler / water heating
  4. 4Open all the taps, cold then hot, to drain the system faster
  5. 5Move valuables away and catch what you can

Electrical fault, sparks or burning smell?

  1. 1If anything is smoking or alight: get everyone out and call 999 first
  2. 2Switch off the affected circuit at the consumer unit (fuse box) — unless the consumer unit itself is wet, scorched, crackling or smells of burning: then don't touch it, and leave it for an electrician
  3. 3Don't touch anything that's wet, scorched or buzzing
  4. 4Unplug appliances on that circuit if safe to reach

Sewage backing up?

  1. 1Stop using ALL water — taps, toilets, washing machine
  2. 2Keep children and pets away from affected areas
  3. 3Don't lift external manhole covers
  4. 4Photograph the situation for your records

Emergency safety guides

Each guide covers what to do first, what not to do, and who to call before us, or instead of us, when it isn’t ours to handle.

What counts as an emergency?

  • Water escaping that you can't stop
  • No heating in cold weather with vulnerable people at home
  • Electrical faults with burning smells or scorching
  • Sewage backing up into the property
  • A roof letting rain in
  • A property that can't be secured after damage

Not on the list but worried? Send the request anyway — we triage honestly and will tell you if it can safely wait.

How we handle urgent requests

  1. 1Your request goes to the top of the review queue
  2. 2We offer the job to a verified Hero for the trade you need, and they confirm whether they can take it
  3. 3We tell you honestly what we can do and when — no invented promises
  4. 4If we can't help, we tell you plainly, so you can make other arrangements

Availability varies by area and time — we'll always tell you honestly what we can do.

Emergency services

Not dangerous, but not working?

Once it’s safe, these walk through the likely causes, what you can check yourself, and what to leave alone — so you know what you’re asking for before anyone comes out.

The Household Emergency Card

Where’s your stopcock? Your fuse box? Your gas meter? Record them once, before the emergency. Free, printable, saved on your device — every London household should have one.

Create yours — free

Emergency questions

What counts as a home emergency?
Anything that risks damage or safety if it waits: water you can't stop, no heating in cold weather with vulnerable people at home, burning smells from sockets, sewage backing up, or a roof letting rain in. If in doubt, tell us — we'll triage honestly.
What should I do before help arrives?
For water: turn off the stopcock. For electrics: if anything is smoking or on fire, get out and call 999 first; otherwise switch off the affected circuit at the consumer unit, unless the consumer unit itself is wet, scorched, crackling or smells of burning, and don't touch anything wet. If you smell gas: don't use switches or flames, open the doors and windows, turn the gas off at the meter unless it is in a cellar or basement, get everyone out, and call the National Gas Emergency Service free on 0800 111 999 — before anything else.
How fast can someone come?
Response times depend on availability, location and job type. We will never promise a response time we can't meet — when you submit an urgent request we tell you honestly what we can do.

Not an emergency after all? Browse all services and book at a time that suits you.