Power Out? Start With These Safety Checks
What to do first during a power outage: report it, protect food, use backup power safely, and decide when to leave for heat, cooling or medical needs.
Get a flashlight, keep the refrigerator and freezer closed, and check whether anyone needs electricity for medical equipment. If backup power cannot meet an urgent medical need, seek help immediately rather than waiting for restoration.
In the first few minutes
- Check for immediate danger. Stay at least 35 feet from fallen power lines and anything they touch; call 911. Do not enter a flooded basement or touch electrical equipment that has been submerged. Follow these American Red Cross outage precautions.
- Report the outage to your electric utility. Use its official app, website or outage phone number, then check restoration updates. Do not use 911 for a routine outage. Utilities such as We Energies recommend reporting outages as soon as they occur.
- Turn off cooking appliances and unplug nonessential electronics. This reduces hazards and overloads when electricity returns. Use flashlights, not candles. Red Cross guidance supports both precautions.
- Note when power stopped. Keep cold-storage doors shut; the time matters for food decisions below.
- Contact anyone who may need help. Check on neighbors or relatives with medical needs, and use your phone for utility and local emergency alerts. Connect to an available power bank.
If only your house or one room has lost power, do not repeatedly reset breakers. Follow the house-only outage troubleshooting guide or safe checks for a one-room outage.
Protect food: four numbers to know
The storage-time estimates assume the doors stay closed. A temperature reading helps assess safety, but a later cold reading cannot show whether food warmed unsafely earlier.
| Situation | Threshold | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator without power | Up to 4 hours | Keep it closed. Before that window ends, move perishables to an ice-filled cooler if the outage will continue; keep them at 40°F (4°C) or below. |
| Full freezer | About 48 hours | Keep it closed; assess food when power returns. |
| Half-full freezer | About 24 hours | Keep it closed; arrange alternate cold storage sooner. |
| Refrigerated perishables exposed to 40°F (4°C) or above | More than 2 hours | Discard foods such as meat, milk, eggs and leftovers. |
FoodSafety.gov’s outage chart supplies these thresholds and food-specific exceptions. After four hours without power, discard refrigerated perishables unless you can confirm they remained at 40°F or below. Never taste food to test safety. Most frozen foods can be refrozen if they still contain ice crystals or are 40°F or below when power returns; check the chart for exceptions such as ice cream.
Use backup power without creating another emergency
A portable generator belongs outdoors—not in a garage, even with the door open. Keep it at least 20 feet from windows, doors and attached garages, away from vents, and use working carbon monoxide alarms with battery backup. Never heat the house with a gas stove or oven. Turn the generator off and let it cool before refueling. Follow FEMA’s generator guidance and the manufacturer’s instructions.
Never plug a generator into a household wall outlet. That can backfeed electricity and endanger utility workers. House-wiring connections require appropriate equipment installed by a qualified electrician. For direct appliance connections, use intact, heavy-duty outdoor-rated cords suitable for the load. Official generator safety guidance covers these electrical hazards and the ban on enclosed operation.
Leave if essential needs cannot be met
Go to a powered location if your home becomes dangerously hot or cold, or medical equipment cannot run safely. Ask local officials about open warming or cooling centers. Contact your pharmacist for medication-specific refrigeration advice—food thresholds do not apply to medicines. Follow local evacuation and water notices. FEMA recommends alternate plans for medical needs and shelter during extreme temperatures.
When power returns
Check food temperatures promptly, before the refrigerator or freezer has time to cool again, and use the keep-or-discard rules above. Leave flood-damaged electrical equipment off until professionally inspected, as the Red Cross advises. If a breaker trips again or power remains partial, stop troubleshooting and contact the utility or a licensed electrician.