Calling number 112
Calls to emergency number 112 usually are made in difficult conditions. Anxiety, fear, or fright in the face of a danger does not allow to focus, calmly assess the situation and instantly decide what to do to stay safe. Often trying to call emergency services, people simply forget the number, cannot dial it on the phone keypad, or, having successfully reached the call taker, tell him what happened to them and where.
To be able to urgently call for emergency help in case of an accident, please read and remember these simple but helpful tips:
you can call 112 without a SIM card and with an empty account;
choose (move to) a place where you can safely call 112;
dial three digits only – 1, 1, 2 – on your handset’s keypad. No country, city, or area codes are required;
wait for the call taker to answer your call. If you end an ongoing call and make a new call, you will be moved to the end of the call queue and your call time will be extended;
if you can, call 112 and talk to the call taker, having answered your call, yourself;
when the call taker answers, briefly and clearly explain to him what happened;
tell him the exact address where help is needed. If you do not know the address, describe the location as accurately as possible (indicate the direction, distance, describe objects which you see);
answer all the call taker’s questions – they help the services to respond more accurately;
listen to and follow call taker’s advice;
do not hang up until the call taker says that the call can be ended;
after you hang up, try not to use your phone line, because emergency services may need to contact you;
if the situation changes at the scene of the accident (improves or worsens), call 112 again and report it.
Call emergency number 112 only when there is an actual threat to life, health, safety, the environment or property and when emergency services need to arrive at the scene of an emergency and provide emergency help immediately, for example, when:
there is a burning building, car, forest or smoke coming out of a building;
a person, car or animal is drowning;
people stuck in crushed cars, ruins or fallen trees must be freed;
your purse, wallet or other items have been snatched from your hands;
attempts have been made to steal your car;
attempts have been made to damage or destroy your property;
you see an accident where people were injured;
you spotted a person wanted by the police;
you see fighting;
you face violence;
you come across an item similar to an explosive;
you suspect that a person attempts to commit a suicide;
you see a person fallen on the knees or lying down, and suspect that he may be unconscious;
you are bleeding and cannot stop it;
you see a person suffocating and unable to breathe;
you see that a person has suffered electric discharge-related injury (e. g. was hit by lightning, electric current);
an operating device cuts or otherwise injures a limb.
If you end up in a dangerous situation which is not on this list, DO NOT HESITATE and be sure to call 112 and report it!
Persons who call 112 for other than its intended purpose cause great harm to the public and services. Mis-occupied phone lines and false reports do not allow people who really need help to get it. Therefore, use 112 responsibly and do not call if you want to:
play a prank and to falsely call emergency services;
chat with call takers;
comment current events, actions or words of famous people;
complain about not being allowed into a club, bar, café or casino;
call emergency services in case of malfunctions in internal engineering networks of buildings;
find out the PIN code of your SIM card;
complain about traffic lights that are down or traffic jams;
find out a phone number, address or type of activities of a person or an organization;
find out bus, train or plane schedules;
call a taxi;
order flowers or a pizza.
Please remember that malicious behaviour when calling 112 is subject to administrative and criminal liability:
Interfering with work of the Emergency Response Centre knowing that help is not needed subjects to a warning or a fine from EUR 90 to EUR 200 (Article 493(1) of the Law on Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Lithuania);
Calling fire and rescue service, the police, emergency medical services and other special services knowing that help is not needed subjects to a fine from EUR 200 to 2000 (Article 493(2) of the Law on Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Lithuania);
Humiliation of the honour and dignity of a call taker of the Emergency Response Centre – a statutory civil servant – expressed in words, gestures, abusive, arrogant, provocative or other behaviour subjects to a fine from EUR 90 to 140 (Article 508 of the Law on Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Lithuania);
Humiliation of the honour and dignity of a call taker of the Emergency Response Centre – a person performing public administration functions – expressed in writing, words, gestures, abusive, arrogant, provocative or other behaviour subjects to a fine from EUR 50 to 300 (Article 507 of the Law on Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Lithuania);
A person who falsely reported or disseminated a message to the public or an object of state importance that meets the criteria set out in the Law on Civil Protection, a threat or a major disaster, if emergency services were called as a result, subjects to public works, a fine, deprivation of liberty, arrest or imprisonment for up to one year (Article 285(1) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania).
The Emergency Response Centre call taker having answered a call will:
- ask you to describe the situation and answer his questions;
- promptly assess the threat and decide on the help that is needed;
- immediately pass on information on the need for help to the relevant emergency services who will go to the scene.
It often happens that several people report the same incident, so do not be surprised if the call taker will only ask for additional useful information about the incident and end the call. He does that in order to avoid a repetitive flow of information, to faster free up phone lines and to ensure that another person’s emergency call is answered without any undue delay.
