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The world is not just the US: not everyone dials 911 for emergency services, or 0 for the operator. Please mention the US details within the wider international context.

No kidding. However the US services were missing, so I added them. user:clarka

Thanks for doing that! We needed that information.

Information about the Emergency telephone number is duplicated here. The better title is Emergency telephone number as 9-1-1 is known as the Universal emergency telephone number. Any Thoughts? kiwiinapanic 09:10 Jan 19, 2003 (UTC)

I think merging the two articles would be nice. Lorenzarius 09:19 Jan 19, 2003 (UTC)

The following was moved kiwiinapanic 12:46 Jan 19, 2003 (UTC)

Most public telephone networks have one or more emergency services numbers for contacting emergency services such as firefighters, paramedics, police or emergency medical services. If you need to call for help the emergency services numbers are there to help you.

These numbers are not intended to be used except in an emergency. Crank calls to emergency services numbers waste the time of both dispatchers and emergency responders and can endanger lives. False reports of emergencies are often prosecuted as crimes.

Emergency services numbers are typically two or three-digit numbers, and are a special case in the telephone numbering plan.

Many countries have a single number for all emergency services, but others have different emergency numbers for different services.

Emergency numbers by region:

Australasia
- Australia: 000
- New Zealand: 111
Asia: 119 in some parts of Asia
- Hong Kong: 999
Israel: Police: 100, Medical emergency - 101, Fire department - 102
Europe:
- Italy: Police (and general emergency): 113 - Carabinieri: 112 - Medical emergency: 118 - Fire, disasters: 115
- Mainland: 112
- UK: 999, or 112 (for compatibility with mainland Europe)
Russia: Fire: 01, Police (Militsia) - 02, Medical emergency - 103
North America:
- United States of America: 911
- Canada: 911

999: the first emergency number

The first emergency number system to be deployed was in the United Kingdom.

In the days of loop disconnect dialling, attention was devoted to making the numbers difficult to dial accidentally by making them involve long sequences of pulses, such as in the UK 999 emergency number.

911: the North American emergency services number

9-1-1 or nine-one-one (never "9-11" or nine eleven) is the emergency services number for the United States of America. In over 99% of locations in the United States and Canada, dialing "911" from any telephone will link you to an emergency dispatch center which can send emergency responders to your location in an emergency. In some areas Enhanced 911 which automatically gives dispatch the caller's location is available.

However, be aware that dialing 911 from a mobile phone will reach the state police or highway patrol. You will have to describe your exact location so that the state police can transfer you to the correct local emergency services. You may want to program into your mobile phone the direct phone number to your local police or other emergency services.

The number 911 is so pervasively used in US media that other countries have sometimes had difficulty in educating children not to dial 911 for help.

112: the European and international GSM standard emergency number

See 112.

History of emergency services numbers

first systems were established in the UK via the operator
UK 999 system set up in July 1937
US 911 system set up in 1968, but not universal until the 1970s

Additional topics to be covered:

mention telephony as essential service
mobile phones have made emergency reporting more pervasive
accidental dialling from mobile phones
treatment of silent emergency calls
911 jusrisdiction problem from mobile phones
"enhanced 911" services
311 a non-emergency telephone number, popular in the US, that can be used to contact the Police and other services to report minor incidents and historic crime that does not endanger life - to avoid overloading 911.
National Emergency Number Association (NENA)