After arriving to the home, the homeowners made me aware of how they lost hot water and how they smelled plastic burning. The homeowners were recently out of town, and when they returned they noticed no hot water. In the crawlspace is a State electric water heater from 2003, a low boy electric water heater, which is original to the home. I began by removing the cover panel for the upper thermostat and element. It was obvious an electrical fire took place, which melted wire, and the thermostat. Power was still being supplied to the unit, so I disconnected the unit using the service disconnect. I made the homeowners aware that replacement of the unit would be the only way to move forward since the components in the unit failed, and wires were melted, and the unit is approximately 20 years old. I gave the homeowners options with upfront pricing, at this time they’re getting another estimate tomorrow and have not decided to move forward with work.