How to use 112
What is 112?
112 is the single European emergency phone number. Call 112
* To contact any emergency service
* In any EU country
* From fixed phones, including payphones, or mobile phones
* Free of charge
When can you call 112?
Dial 112 in any emergency requiring an ambulance, the fire brigade or the police. Examples:
* You have been involved in or have witnessed a serious road accident
* You notice a building on fire.
* You spot a house being broken into.
Do not call 112 to obtain, for example:
* Traffic reports
* Weather reports
* General information and queries
Unnecessary calls may overload the system putting at risk the lives of those who really need emergency assistance.
Hoax calls may also affect the response to real emergencies. Because of the high number of hoax calls, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Romania, Slovenia, the United Kingdom decided to block 112 calls from mobile phones without a SIM card.
What happens when you call 112?
A specially trained operator will answer your call. Depending on the country, the operator will either deal with the request directly or transfer you to the most appropriate emergency service.
Operators are increasingly able to answer 112 calls in more than one language, which is especially important for people calling 112 while abroad.
Give your name, address, telephone number. It is necessary to identify callers to avoid confusion – the same incident may already have been reported by a number of people.
Do not hang up if you call 112 by mistake! Tell the operator that everything is OK. Otherwise, emergency assistance may have to be sent out to check there is no problem.
