Emergency telephone numbers in Germany

my daughter this evening her stomach tube was bleeding, and i needed to call the eqivalant of 999! i ran 112 which was aparently the fire brigde! they did get me the help i needed and my daughter is fine. but when i asked the neibours what do i call. i was stunned to hear they had no idear!
i have looked it up the the phone book and still is not clear to me but i really do need to have this to hand. we live in lörrach so don´t know if it is differant to each area. sorry probably seem a bit dumb but this has become a mistery today
tracey

112 is the number to call for the Fire service or medical emergencies so you were right there, 110 is for the police. However as both operators are often co-located or at least in constant contact they are to a degree interchangeable. In doubt call 112 as it covers most emergencies.

thnaks this is what i thought but was told i was wrong! i will stick to 112, one things for sure it worked.
really thanks
tracey

You're welcome hope your daughter's OK

in some areas (such as my home Landkreis Ravensburg) they have been trying to introduce 19222 as the first aid emergency line over the past ten years, but I believe it's still a very Southern German thing - you'll have to check with the emergency services in your own Landkreis. (The number should be on the first few pages of your phone book - are you sure it's not there?)

here we go:
http://www.rettungsdienst.brk.de/notruf/notrufnr.htm

now I'm confused. The above link is for the Bavarian Red Cross, but it still says that 19222 has been reserved in the whole of Germany as the number for medical emergencies. I can't find any national German pages to confirm this though - the online phone book just gives the usual 110 and 112 numbers:
http://www.tao.dastelefonbuch.de/?other=x1...&sp=0&aktion=17
Da steh ich nun,ich armer Thor, und bin so klug, als wie zuvor

did I read in the last few weeks that 112 is to be (or has been) adopted in UK, at least as an addition to 999, because it is more international?

Tracey: hope your littl'un is ok!

to my knowledge the emergency services can be reached in the UK by dialing 999, 112 or indeed 911.

This is to make it more accessible (PC?) for minorities, tourists, etc.

at last a bit of PC that makes sense then!!!

hi and thanks every one i was sure when i looked un the number in the phone book it was 112 as well but then i was told other wise! and wondered if i had the translation wrong.

emma is ok, she is going though a bad spell at the moment. they have fitted her with a new feeding tube. and it has cause so many problems. emma has had medical problems since she was born and is unable to gain weigh. she is 2 1/2 years old and weights 7.4kgs so in relation she is the sise of a 7mth old. and still should not go facing front in a car seat.

so this is anormal thing for us but have not had to call for the emergency serveces since we have been hear, till last night! but she seems bright as a button again this morning now the bleeding and pain has stoped. again big thanks tracey

I'm not sure about land-line exchanges, but 112 is the standard emergency number on all GSM networks. So dialling 112 from a mobile phone will always get you through to the correct operator, wherever you are. Some phones are also clever enough to recognise local emergency numbers according to your location - 999 in the UK for example.

It's also worth noting that on GSM networks emergency calls have priority over standard calls, so it's better to use 112 than a local number which would possibly be treated as a standard call.

A friend of mine had an emergency a few weeks ago and even though she is English and her husband is German they did not know the emergency numbers and tried dialing 911 They are not American and this number is not the British emergency number nor the German number.

Both parents have CPR training and in the panic of having their own child in an emergency situation, they panicked, could not remember the proper procedures for an injured child and did they know what number to calll.

Today the red cross has a large display downtown with a Helicopter, a climbing wall, a folk band and demonstrations. The emergency number is 112 in Germany. In fact that is the emergency number for all European Union countries. Here is a website that links to all numbers throughout Europe. All European countries that belong to the EU are required to have the same universal emergency number so that EU citizens will always know what number to call.

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/civil/112_en.htm

I also suggest that people tape it next to their phone so they don't have to try to remember in an Emergency.. like my friend, I would be tempted to call 911 and then would panick when nothing happens.

@EUnomad...Cheers for the reminder. Hope your friends are ok now.

Here's another page with useful emergency number information.

Britain was first with 999, chosen due to the desire to make emergency calls for free and the limitations of payphones and modifying them. The US came up with 911 based on the UK's 999 but again based on the standardisations and limitations of the Bell System. It was also considerably faster to dial on rotary phones. Germany's wacked-out Telekom was able to use 112 early on. It's the second shortest number to dial on a rotary phone and less likely to be dialled accidentally (lifting and hanging up the receiver can register as a "1".

Europe has adopted 112 and all EU countries will have to have it working within a few years, although there's nothing preventing the continued use of existing numbers.

Thanks to the massive popularity of US media, many countries have had to add 911 to their networks. The UK added it more than a decade ago and it, like 112, routes to the 999 centers.

woof.

In Britain a 999 call goes to a dedicated emergeny call centre and re-directed to fire, police and ambulance and depending on the area also cave, mountain and sea rescue. 999 is still going to be valid but you can use 112 as well.

In Germany 110 was for the police and 112 for the fire brigade.
There was no central number for medical emergencies.
Indeed the providers of emergency medical services are in competition for the business.

In Munich one of the biggest provisders of emergeny medical services is the fire brigade so in Munich people often called 112 as well. But out in the country people called other numbers.

Increased mobility and mobile phones meant the system had to chance. People might not know the local number and to get to that number from a mobile phone you had to know the local area code too.

It took the Bavarian government YEARS to get a central system set up. Mainly becasue of the instransigence of private ambulance companies and the Red Cross. They alleged that a centralised call centre wold dish out the business to in-house provider. ie in Munich, the fire brigade thus losing them business. Fair play in the case to Interior Minister Beckstein for finally getting it through.

Whats the equivalent phone number for the US 911 here?
Topics merged by admin

112

Cool, I didn't know this...

They teach this to schoolkiddies:

Eins, eins, Osterei,
Das ist die Nummer der Polizei!

Probably a good idea. In the US, people used to refer to it as "nine-eleven"... except young children would often be confused, and look for the "11" button.

This also Includes all (Most if not all) of the new Eastern Schengen countries, Malta and Cyprus.

For a complete Maps of 112 Countries in Europe, check this map.

Some phones will also recognize emergency numbers depending on current location, for example 999 in UK, 000 in Australia, etc.

Also worth knowing that from a mobile the emergency number will work even if you're out of credit, on a network without roaming, or even when you have no SIM card. And you should be able to dial the emergency number even with the keypad locked.

When would/can you use 19222, in a non emergency or non life threatening situation? All of the ambulances here have that number on the side & I know they do in Bavaria too. I know 112 is obviously quicker, but for some reason I often forget that number, but always remember 19222!

19222 still exists in some peoples heads becasue Germany didn't have a single number for medical emergenices until it was forced to.
I guess if you dial 19222 it would land at an emergency co ordingating phone desk.
Probablynot got round to re painting the ambulance yet or got a deal to still advertise 19222 to keep their market share.

Last night, we had a real emergency at home---3 year old son needed urgent care. He had complained since kindergarten that his throat was hurting, but all of a sudden he presented with labouring to breathe, turning red, heat racing, appearing to pass out--all with a terrible look of fear in his eyes. I called 112----and while I am trying to explain to the person on the phone--it was fairly clear that this person could not be asked to help and did not want to. I have never had to call emergency before, but I thought if a small child cannot breathe that constituted an emergency. I must be mistaken. He refused to help, and as my son continuted to deteriorate, I was becoming more insistant that I needed help---not yelling--but definately was trying to get my point across that the boy was getting worse and I needed immediate help. To no avail---this guy simply said you can go to a klinik near Hauptbahnhof. When I said I do not know where this place is---how do I drive and take care of my sick child and yet another child as well---he said you will have to wait and we will have someone call back! WHAT A JOKE!!!

I did rush him to the nearest hospital myself in the end, where they took appropriate and immediate care under the circumstances. My son has a viral infection that progressed rapidly, creating blisters in the back of his throat and in top of his mouth that was laboring his breathing and causing the pain to go from bad to worse fairly quickly.

I find the non-service or help by 112 SHOCKING to say the least. For the sake of the next person placed in this type of situation, can anyone tell me where I have to call now to register a formal complaint regarding my experience last night?

Thx

That's absolutely disgraceful. I'm afraid I don't know where you should complain (I don't think calling 112 about it would do any good) but I hope someone can advise you. Don't let them get away with it. Hope your little boy is feeling better.

Kay, thanks for that. I was hoping that maybe someone here on TT might be able to advise, as there is a wealth of knowledge on this board.

You are right, it is a disgrace.

One other relevant question: Do they record these calls in Germany? I assume so (the UK and US do I believe) I don't know how long such recordings are kept, but if you contact them soon enough with a complaint perhaps they'll still have it.

Branddirektion München
An der Hauptfeuerwache 8
D-80331 München

Tel.: 089 2353 001 - Vermittlung
Fax: 089 2353 3182 - Geschäftsstelle

German Criminal Code - Section 323c Failure to Render Assistance (Unterlassene Hilfeleistung)

Whoever does not render assistance during accidents or common danger or need, although it is required and can be expected of him under the circumstances and, especially, is possible without substantial danger to himself and without violation of other important duties, shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than one year or a fine.

Unterlassene Hilfeleistung (Wikipedia) ...

Whocares, I'm glad everything worked out in the end. That is absolutely appalling behaviour from the emergency service dispatcher. I would get onto it right away, because for calls where there's no action taken, I doubt they keep the recordings that long. If nothing else, write down the exact time you called, which will help trace the useless git with whom you spoke.

Cheers to each of you for your concern on behalf of my son. In fact, this matter will be important to us all, at one time or another.

I am following up as we speak, so to say!

if you can... keep us posted on the outcome, I'm curious how such situations are handled

Did you speak German to the 112 operator?

Yes, Petrohead, I did.

Well that is indeed a poor service from the emergency helpline. Did the doctors at the hospital agree with you that it was definitely an emergency too?

When we were at the intake, when I told them that 112 told us they would call us back rather than help right away, she said agreed the system did not work properly in this case. While he was stablizing (his breathing, I mean) when we finally got to the hospital, I assure you that even though I am not a medical professional, the kid was in trouble. Hence, why I phoned. I would have called again under the circumstances.

Then likely you have a strong case. Hope your son is now on the mend, good luck!

112 now works all over Europe (Sueddeutsche - article in German).


rough translation:
The UK is especially advanced in this area ... An automated telephone information system recognizes the caller's mother tongue and forwards the call to a native speaker. 20 languages are already available.

I'm not arguing with the SZ article, but I'd like to see separate evidence of such a system in the UK. Emergency services are run on a regional basis - most regions offer an "interpreter service" for their emergency line. Only last year Thames Valley were looking for Polish speakers to staff their service.. No mention of an automated system to route the calls, however.

What they fail to mention is that the system really doesn't work all that well and it will still xfer your call to a Call center in India
if it can't understand you..

Either there or to the call centre on Tyneside man.

I'd be interested in the outcome of this 112 call that went wrong.
I suspect the issue is that the person who picks up a 112 call despatches the relevent service ratehr than necessarily being a medical professional who can advise.

If a call went, "my child is having difficulty breathing, I need a Kindernotarzt to address XYZ NOW", I guess one would be there in a few minutes.