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Emergency numbers: which one to call, and what to say

In an emergency, you lose precious seconds wondering which number to dial. Emergency numbers are usually linked and pass calls on to each other, so there is rarely a truly wrong choice. But the right number saves you time.

The number to remember: 112

112 is the European emergency number. It works in every country of the European Union, free of charge, from a landline or a mobile, even with no credit and even with the phone locked. Elsewhere in the world, many mobile phones also redirect 112 to the local emergency services. If you only remember one number, make it this one. Also learn the emergency number of your own country.

The types of emergency services to know

• Medical emergency services: for feeling faint, chest pain, loss of consciousness or a serious injury.
• Police: for an assault, a theft in progress, a threat, or someone in danger.
• Fire service: for a fire, an accident, or someone trapped or injured.

Write down the numbers for your country and keep them somewhere easy to find. In some countries, the emergency services can be reached by text message or through an app: find out today how it works where you live.

What to say

1. Where you are: the town, the street, a number, a visible landmark. This is the first thing the emergency services need.
2. What is happening, in one sentence.
3. How many people are affected, and what condition they are in.
4. Your phone number, so that they can call you back.

Then don’t be the first to hang up: the operator ends the call once they have what they need. They can also tell you what to do while you wait.

When you can’t speak

If someone is holding you, you are hiding, or you can no longer get the words out, find out whether the emergency services in your country can be reached by text message. Write where you are and what is happening, in short sentences. If even writing is impossible, a call to 112 left open can sometimes let the emergency services hear what is going on.

Get your phone ready today

• Fill in the emergency card on your phone (blood type, allergies, medication, person to contact): it can be read without unlocking the screen.
• Learn your phone’s emergency call gesture, from the locked screen.
• Show these numbers to your children and to your older parents, and have them repeat them back to you.

More guides

• Attack or threat in the street
• Getting home alone at night
• An older relative living alone