Emergency Locksmith in Milwaukee, WI

What counts as urgent in Milwaukee

Urgent means a risk to safety or security that cannot wait: someone shut out in dangerous cold or heat, a child or pet locked in a car (call 911 first), a door that will not lock after a break-in, or a key snapped in the only working door. A lock that sticks but still works can usually wait for an ordinary repair.

Weather raises the stakes. The state Department of Transportation counts about 35 to 40 winter weather events in an average Wisconsin winter, so a person shut outside or a door that will not secure can meet bad weather several times a season. Summer heat does the same to a locked car or a closed-up room. Storm damage that leaves a door unlatched belongs here too.

Safety first

• If someone is in danger, or you think an intruder may still be inside, call 911 and stay out.
• After a break-in, call the police before anything else, and leave the scene as it is until they say otherwise.
• In a rental, tell the owner in writing about a door that will not secure. Milwaukee's building-security brochure for tenants says to raise it with the landlord before going to the Department of Neighborhood Services.

What to send in a request

• The address, and the unit and entrance. In a Polish flat, upper or lower; in a loft building in the Historic Third Ward, the lobby or your unit door.
• What happened, and whether police have been called.
• Whether anyone is outside in the weather, hurt or inside.
• The type of door and lock, and whether the door can still be closed.
• A phone number where you can be reached.

Even in an urgent job, get the total in writing before work begins and keep the itemized invoice. The state's Bureau of Consumer Protection asks complainants for receipts, invoices and copies of the ad they answered. See emergency locksmith, house lockout or car lockout.