8889 Emergency services

Carabinieri = 112
Polizia = 113
Fire = 115
Ambulance = 118
Coastguard = 1530

Thank you very much for the info - if I called it from mobile phone does anyone know what it would be?

112 is EU wide, and must by law work from mobiles as well as fixed lines:

[I]"Article 26 of the Universal Service Directive (2002/22/EC) states that Member States must ensure that calls from fixed and mobile phones to 112 are free of charge. Furthermore, the handling of the calls must be appropriate. This should be enhanced by enabling emergency centres to process caller location information. Member States should also publicise 112 as the single European emergency number"[/I]

In practice, the number is available & free in all 25 member states, but the back end systems (to use caller ID and/or mobile cell to locate the caller etc.) aren't neccessarily consistent.

no idea about the other short codes, but assume same applies?

I assume then that 999 here in the UK is no longer applicable or are we an exception??? (Don't say try it)

no, 999 still works in the UK.

[quote=headyheady;83627]Thank you very much for the info - if I called it from mobile phone does anyone know what it would be?[/quote]

It would be the same numbers. With your mobile you can program these numbers in and they are always there.

It is also a good idea to program a contact number for you in case something happens to you the police can use your mobile phone to call your contact. Label it "ICE", which is universal for "In Case of Emergency"

Hi Bruno

Good advice about the ICE on your mobile, have this in my handbag but hadn't thought of doing the same on the mobile.

Have a short list with partner/family members and their UK numbers and an Italian contact as well.

Also,
Might be useful (if it's still the same): dial 12 for directory of enquiries.

In case of emergency:
Phone the Carabinieri if you are in a rural area.
If you are in a city, you can call either the Carabinieri or Polizia.
Make sure your family also are aware of the 112/113 and 118 numbers in case you are the one that has an emergency and can't make the call.

If you are new to an area, it's worth checking out where the nearest:
1. Carabinieri station is.
2. Pronto soccorso is.

Hopefully you'll never need them.

If you are in a rural area and the house is not so easy to find, it is also useful to keep written directions by the phone giving local landmarks such as bars, churches, restaurants etc. and make sure you give the emergency operator a contact number. In the stress of an emergency it is not always easy to give clear directions in Italian.

This was brought home to us one Sunday when a local lad came off his motocross bike near one of his friends house on one of the nearby white roads - the carabinieri, guarda medica and ambulance arrvied in the area within 15 mins - but due to a lack of clear directions it took them 1/2 hour to find him! Fortunately he had 'only' broken his leg so the delay, although stressful for all concerned, was not that serious, in other instances it could have had a very different ending.

There's another to add to the list:

Corpo Forestale (Servizio Antincendi) = 1515

these are the guys who patrol in jeeps and helicopters looking to catch people lighting fires which get out of control and endanger nearby forests and those beasties and people living nearby.

I think the line can be used in two ways:
a) to report on someone else's fire which is looking dangerous to you
b) to notify the Corpo that you are having a fire, that you will be in attendance at all times, have a hose etc nearby, will not let it get out of control and will douse it if the wind gets up. This saves them buzzing you with their helicopter/plane and sending out scary men with guns.

Don't ask me how I know so much about this one!!!!

I don't know what the rules are elsewhere, but remember in our bit of Tuscany, fires are banned outright in July and August - this is announced by the customary posters in the piazza.
Chris
[url=http://www.olivopiegato.com]Tuscany Bed and Breakfast - L'Olivo Piegato, The Crooked Olive[/url]
[quote=anne2;83622]Carabinieri = 112
Polizia = 113
Fire = 115
Ambulance = 118
Coastguard = 1530[/quote]

I've just done a St John first aid course and we were told that you should always use 112 for emergency services from a mobile rather than 999 as this will automatically route through to the service provider with the strongest signal.

For example, at home we do not have a Virgin signal although I have a Virgin mobile so if I dial 112 I will get routed through to Vodafone's network which is our strongest signal (that's the theory at least).

Although most of the class were aware of this, I wasn't so may be useful to others.