How to call 112?
1. First of all: stay calm!
You need to give some crucial information concerning the emergency situation.
2. If you can, make the call yourself.
It is best, when a person directly involved in the emergency situation, makes the call. Calls made through intermediaries may delay the arrival of assistance.
So if you can, move to a safe place and make the call.
3. Choose only those three digits - 112 on phone's keypad and press the dial key, or ring 112 on a phone's dial. No country, city or district code is needed prior to 112;
4. Wait until the operator answers your call. Be patient! If there's no answer after a few calling signals, don't interrupt the call and don't try to call repeatedly. Every repeated call is considered a new one and is put to the end of the queue, therefore the time of getting through might be prolonged;
5. Introduce yourself and briefly and clearly state what has happened and who is involved;
6. Indicate the location (if possible, precise address) where the emergency assistance is necessary. If possible, explain the easiest way to reach the location. If an accident happened in a location other than where you are calling from, indicate this as well;
7. Briefly and clearly answer all the questions asked. Please understand that precise and clear answers to all questions is necessary to determine the appropriate immediate assistance;
8. Follow the advice given by the emergency call-taker or dispatcher;
9. Do not hang up, until the call-taker or dispatcher says to do so;
10. Try to keep your phone line free after the conversation if possible. A dispatcher might need to contact you again for additional information about the accident or to give you additional advice;
11. If the situation surrounding the emergency changes (gets worse or better), call 112 again and report about that.
Attention!
Several people sometimes call 112 to report the same accident or emergency. Don't be surprised if the call-taker asks only whether you have additional useful information and ends the conversation. They act in such ways to avoid repeating data flow, to free the telephone lines faster and to ensure a prompt answer of the next emergency call.
NB: We noticed that people with disabilities find it hard to access emergency services (through 112 or national emergency numbers) with the existing solutions. The REACH 112 project intends to improve the accessibility of the EU emergency services through the 112 phone number for people with disabilities. (www.reach112.eu)
