Do you usually call 112 or a local number in an emergency?

36 comments

1. It’s 112 in Germany (110 for police), but I’m pretty sure that all the most common emergency numbers work as well. Meaning, calling 911 or 999 in Germany (or anywhere in Europe?) should automatically redirect you to the emergency services as well.

2. I think it depends. 112 is a number everyone knows, and it will connect you to that country’s alarm central, which can help you or direct you on to the right branch. The different local numbers, at least to my knowledge, are for the different branches instead of the central call centre.

   The [numbers](https://eco.univ-rennes.fr/en/emergency-phone-numbers-france) in France will direct you to the appropriate path, if you use them. But you can still use 112. In Denmark, to give two examples, we have a line for acute medical issues just for Copenhagen (1813) and a number for the police (114) that is to be used for tipping off the police or reporting a crime that doesn’t need immediate intervention

3. In Norway, we are encouraged to call 112 for a police emergency, 113 for the ambulance and 110 for the fire brigade. But they can connect to each other if we happen to call the wrong number.

4. It’s 112 in Georgia. I heard from a friend in high school that if you call 911 or 999 that it would redirect you to an operator who is fluent in English (apparently they set this up in case visitors had emergencies) but, I’m not sure if this is true.

5. We use 117 for the fuzz, 118 for the burn and 144 for the ouch. But when in doubt, you can call either and they redirect you. 112 exists, but I don’t know how well-known or -used it is.

6. We use 112 for general emergencies, like the EU.

   We also have 117 for police, 118 for fire, 144 for medical, 1414 for air rescue

   I do not know of any other numbers.

7. It’s 112 for Portugal.

   Technically, Fire emergencies are 117 but in practice it’s the same team.

8. In Spain it’s 112 for all emergencies, there are other numbers just for police but 112 is for all emergency services, and also the only free one.

9. In Italy not everywhere 112 is available, [here’s the map](https://where.areu.lombardia.it/assets/img/ita.png) in red where it is activated.

   If you call a local number in a 112 area, you’ll be redirected to the 112 call center.

   Where it’s not activated the local numbers are:

   * 112 will call Military Police (Carabinieri)
   * 113 Police
   * 115 Firefighters
   * 116/800-116 Tow Truck
   * 117 Financial Police
   * 118 Ambulance
   * 1530 Cost Guard
   * 1515 Forestry Corps

10. 112 should work in the UK, but most people will dial 999.

    They then ask you if you want Fire, Ambulance or Police, but I think you can also reach the Coastguard and Bomb Disposal services from 999, too.

11. 112 is the emergency number but in case of non-emergency you can call the the police at 114 and there is another non-emergency number for the firebrigade. You could also call medical information at 1177. We also have a SOS app with all these numbers that can help them find you with gps.

    [Screenshot from the app.](https://imgur.com/a/XCNYHdg)

12. In Czechia we have 150 for the fire brigade,155 for the ambulance and 158 for the police (and also 156 as a non-emergency number for the police). As a kid I learned that 112 is specifically for English-speaking people and big emergencies.

13. 112 is the general emergency number here. However, we have different numbers if we need specifically police, ambulance, fire brigade etc.

14. 112 for emergency police, fire department or ambulance,

    0900-8844 police no emergency,

    0800-9009 for smell of gas (most would probably just call 112), or electric or gas outages,

    144 for help for animals, can be for accident, abuse or neglect.

    113 or 0800-0113 for suicide prevention.

    911 and maybe some others also work.

15. In Poland, local numbers no longer work. Whenever you call 999, 998 or 997 they will switch you to 112 operator.

16. 112 nowadays in Finland but back when landlines were widely in use, each service had its own number. 0800 147 111 is the number (without country code) to The Finnish Poison Information Center. Pharmacists specialized in toxicology answer there to questions on the treatment of poisons and how to prevent them.

17. For Poland:
    112- unviersal emergency number
    997- Police
    998- fire fighters
    999- paramedics
    986- city guards (kinda like police but lame)
    996- counter terrorism unit of Internal Security Agency

18. In Ireland, either 112 or 999 will work, though I have the impression 999 is the more culturally known number.

19. Local, 150 for fire brigade, 155 for ambulance, 158 for police, 156 for municipal police

20. 112 for medical, fire brigade, combination and any other emergency, 113 for police. We also have a separate number where one can call the police anonimously but I’d have to look it up.

21. We call 112 but in bigger events with damag civil protection unit (?) also gives out their number and e-mail.

22. I’ve never actually had to use them, but I’ve moved around a bit and I’m really grateful for 112’s existence.

23. 112 for any emergency, although 113 is also available for suicide prevention.
    Most international emergency numbers like 911 or 999 will also redirect you to 112.

    On top of that, there are also some phone numbers for emergency services, but for cases that aren’t an emergency, like 0900-8844 for police, easily remembered by Dutch citizens as 0900-TUIG (which means scum, or riffraff)

24. Whilst 112 will work in the UK, the number that is drummed into everyone’s head is 999.

    That’s for real emergencies requiring a quick response covering Police, Fire, Ambulance, Coastguard.

25. I think there is no local number here. All the emergency vehicles have 112 written on them and I think I should know seen how I used to volunteer for a bit. So there are no alternatives. 112 directs you to the CSU where they alarm and dispatch local emergency vehicles, both firefighters and ambulances. The police got a separate number though with 113.

26. I have thankfully never been in an emergency that would require it yet, but I would call 112 if I needed to. By design that’s supposed to be the first responders number and they can forward the call as they deem necessary.

    I guess I’ll find out if the country I’m in doesn’t properly implements this a bit too late, but so be it.

27. In Austria, you call 122 for the firefighters, 133 for the police and 144 for the ambulance. 112 does work obviously but no local would think of calling them, it’s for tourists, at least that’s how it’s seen !

28. 112 is for emergencies and they will connect to to whatever you need: police, ambulance, fire department.

    If there’s not an emergency but you still need the police, for example, there are other phone numbers you can call. An example would be someone parking on your spot, loud noises during quiet hours, things that are not emergencies but need to be dealt with.

29. Even if all the numbers are joined to 112, you can use local numbers to call them directly. 112 is the main number when you don’t know who to call. But local numbers still prevalently used.

    110 – Fire Department

    112 – Emergency Call Centre (Originally for Health Emergency Only)

    113 – Hospital/White Code

    122 – Research and Rescue

    131 – Railroads

    144 – Social Help (Food, Coal, Health, Education, Housing, After Birth Help, Help for Widowed Woman)

    153 – Constabulary Police

    155 – Police

    156 – Army

    158 – Coast Guards

    159 – Highways

    177 – Forest Fire

    183 – Domestic Violence

    184 – Temporary for Corona Only

    185 – Water Failure

    186 – Electrical Failure

    187 – Natural Gas Failure

    188 – Funeral Services

    [There are more.](https://www.securitasalarm.com.tr/acil-durum-ve-onemli-telefon-numaralari-listesi)

30. While 112 should work in Ukraine, we usually dial each service’s central

    101 – fire service

    102 – police service

    103 – ambulance/emergency medical service

    104 – gas service

    In my childhood 09 service existed – an information service. If it still exists, it’s now 109, but I’m not sure if it is still a thing

31. 112 for emergencies

    114 14 is the non emergency number to the police, report a stolen bike or burglary (not in action) etc.

    1177 for medical advice/non-emergencies

32. 112 is the preferred number for fire department and ambulance, although I’d wager many (older) people would still dial 100 for an ambulance because “de honderd” (the hundred, not to be confused with the US TV series) is still common in colloquial speech when referring to an ambulance service.

    If you need the police then the old number 101 is still the fastest, and this number is still the one advertised on police cars. Calling 112 will work, but is slower since you will need to be routed to the correct callcenter.

33. During emergency everyone in Estonia calls 112. There are no separate call centers for police/rescue/ambulance. Operator then decides which services to send. 112 has been the single number already for 20 years or more. I still remember stickers from somewhere around 2002 which advertised to only call 112 during emergency (because there were some old grannies who had no idea that old Soviet-style 001, 002, 003 numbers were shut down). Dialing 911 and 999 also connects to joint 112 number. In addition there are of course many non-emergency numbers such as medical advice, police information, suicide hotline, child welfare, etc…

34. So there’s 112 which you can call for any emergency and they will send the required assistance.

    There are local and specific numbers, which i don’t honestly remember. I’ve never had to call 112 so i don’t know.

35. It’s 112 for real emergencies, and there’s another number for less urgent things, but I believe that’s Police only.

    When you call 112 the first question is what you need (Police, Fire Brigade or Ambulance) then they ask more specific questions about the situation.

    When you call for an Ambulance then Police will usually arrive as well, or at least that’s my experience when it’s an outdoors situation.

36. In Ireland we call 999 for all emergency services. 112 works aswell but everyone would use 999. But each Garda station has a local number for non emergencies (like the bull has broke out and you need to get a road closed to catch him sorta thing)