Talk:999 (emergency telephone number)

message: The end of the last line reads: "..and then hand over to the other force when they arrive.yh man goole". It's the "yh man goole" part that confuses me. I'm assuming it's not meant to be there, but I thought I'd check here first, before just editing it. ZellDenver (talk) 00:22, 29 October 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Anomaly in 'location'

message: Quote from "History": "A valid SIM card is required to make a 999/112 emergency call in the UK.[7][8]" This is wholey inaccurate, it is required that all mobile phones be able to dail: 999, 112 & 911. I belive that there may be some other numbers in there too.  ZellDenver (talk) 00:32, 29 October 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, the GSM standard requires that the phone ATTEMPTS an emergency call without a SIM.  But that doesn't necessarily mean that a network will accept such an unidentified call.  The major U.K. networks do not.  87.112.142.201 (talk) 23:07, 19 August 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Outdated Information

message: Mountain and cave rescue? That's pretty specific types of need. Are there many people getting trapped in caves and mountains in Europe that we don't know about? Anglachel 21:01, Nov 10, 2004 (UTC)
:i've definately seen mountain rescue mentioned in phone boxes can't say i've seen cave rescue or nuclear rescue mentioned before.
:the idea is when you have a serious (life or death situation crime in progress etc) emergency you don't need to worry about what number to call you just dial 999 on whatever phone is availible (even a mobile without a sim card WILL dial 999 if it can find a network transmitter and i think they may use other networks to get 999 service if needed).Plugwash 23:55, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes - people do get trapped in caves (rarely) and on mountains (frequently). You should dial 999 in the UK for ANY emergency requiring emergency medical/police/fire brigade assistance. More specialised teams such as the sea or mountain rescue are contacted by the emergency services operator, but the point is that the general public only have to remember the number 999. Jez 13:36, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: In the Highlands of Scotland and Wales, as well as other areas, calls for Mountain Rescue are all too common.  In Scotland the police have responsibility for Mountain Rescue so calls will be routed to them.  Other areas with caving activities will have Cave Rescue teams though I suspect that any 999 calls will be routed through the police by the emergency operator.  --jmb 17:07, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I'll be an anecdotal "third" to those two accounts. They don't appear as part of the emergency services lineup on payphone posters in my own, inland, lowland borough (or at least, didn't, given how such things are going the way of the dodo anyhow), but I've seen mention of Coastguard and/or Mountain Rescue alongside the usual three enough times when living in or visiting coastal and mountainous areas. Cave Rescue would probably be part of one and/or other of those, probably included as needed on a strictly localised basis in areas with... well, a lot of caves. Can't put it much more sensibly than that. 193.63.174.211 (talk) 16:46, 12 March 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: MRT and CRO

message: Is there any evidence that such an emergency service exists in the UK? When it comes to dealing with (or planning and practicing for) any incident of a radiological or nuclear nature, the approach AFAIK is almost always one where the 3 primary services attend (the fire brigade dispatching the relative NBC special units) backed-up by specialists like the internal emergency services of the nuclear industry, MoD, NRPB, etc. --Myfanwy 18:44, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: i strongly suspect there is a specific group (either within one of the emergency services or otherwise) which would have the job of taking the report and coordinating the multi-service response to a nuclear emergency. Plugwash 22:39, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  Due to the recent attacks on London, (7/7/2005 and 21/7/2005), there may be more emergency services available. Nuclear could be one of them.
There is the Civil Nuclear Constabulary formerly the UKAEA Constabulary. They are specifically for the protection of nuclear materials and civil nuclear sites. They as far as I know are the UK's only fully armed police constabulary. Info from CNC Website
Roblynas 01:50, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

text: Aren't MoD Police fully armed?  --jmb 17:07, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

text: I don't think there is any need for nuclear emergency to be listed as any calls from the public will be routed to fire or police.  There are plans  for a radiological emergency in most areas especially near Z-berths but these will be activated by the police or other emergency services.  --jmb 17:07, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I added the services section from elsewhere in Wikipedia. I was surprised that they had written "Nuclear Emergency", but I thought that someone could delete it should it turn out wrong. Microchip08 20:43, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text:  Police, Fire, Ambulance, Coastguard/Mountain Rescue, AA/RAC/Green Flag ... Hazmat/NBC team? They're the sixth emergency service! I don't think the typical dispatcher would give you the time of day if you called up asking for them (or a breakdown truck) using 999 though. At least it would probably start as a police matter (who could then quickly pull in army or other higher-up specialists) until they eventually became involved. 193.63.174.211 (talk) 16:35, 12 March 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: Nuclear emergency

message: It's worth mentioning you don't need to know what service you require before dialling 999, the operator will make a judgement for you on the basis of what you're screaming.  You can always ask them what is available/describe the situation.
Would it be worth including information here giving details of the procedure/etc. involved in dialling 999 (standard call) so people know what to expect - I've worked in the emergency services for a while & every little bit of info that gets out there is a benefit to our response.  Unfortunately the government currently doesn't seem interested in paying for this. For an example see... http://www.diretribe.com/stuff/guide-to-having-an-emergency/  Thanks.
The major 999 providers (BT and C&W - who together deal with 99% of calls) will route calls to the following Emergency Services only: Police, Fire, Ambulance and Coastguard.  Other services are accessed via those four services.  In virtually all cases BT and C&W will connect the call to the service which is requested.  They make no judgement call normally, and untill very recently there was no definition of what an emergency was.  That definition is not used by BT and C&W.  The purpose of BT and C&W is only to pass the call on as soon as possible, which normally means doing what the caller asks for.  If multiple services are needed (for example following an accident) the service mentioned first will normally recieve the call.  The service spoken to will liase with the other services. sb 13:54, 23 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I am confused about the question asked by opparators. Back in School (1995-2006) I was taught it was 'Which service do you require?' and I have never had to call an emergency phone number. This article dosn't seem to cite any sources on this so has anyone got any proof on this?(Tk420 (talk) 17:34, 18 June 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Procedure when dialling 999

message: I was led to believe that one of the reasons the numbers "999" where chosen is that they could be dialled in the dark as "9" was the last number on the dial and nearest the stop.
:0 is the last number on a standard dial phone, so, no ;) --Kiand 16:47, 24 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: History of 999

message: Good to see our politicians have one.  "In an emergency, dial 999. To have the police visit your home for non-emergencies, use 101". LMAO... --User24 21:23, 5 November 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: And in the nuclear emergency PDF linked in a different section above. The team that would be called upon if something went badly wrong with a Trident sub off the Scottish coast? Why, the Nuclear Emergency Monitoring Organisation, aka NEMO... Despite the general sounding nature of the expanded acronym, I somehow bet they never dealt with any situation that didn't revolve around submarines... 193.63.174.211 (talk) 16:55, 12 March 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: Sense of Humour

message: I have read in the past that priority for "112" calls was written into the specification of GSM.  Opinions seem to vary about whether "999" gets the same priority.  Does anyone have a definitive answer?   --jmb 17:11, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Most sim cards in mobile phones will translate a "999" dialled on a mobile phone to "112" in the UK.  This ensures that the call gets priority on the network.  It also means that it is not possible to count the number of truely dialled "112" calls in the UK, though the number is probably very low. 999 landline calls do get priority provided they are made using traditional signalling.  It is unclear if 999 calls will get priority on "Next Generation Networks" which use VoIP. sb 22:53, 4 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: 999 from mobile telephone

message: It is an all-service number, meaning that it should be called in any situations where state-run emergency services are needed. The three main and best-known services are fire & rescue services, police and paramedics. 
:The British term "Fire Brigade" has been changed to "fire services" then "fire & rescue".  Many UK brigades have changed their names but most people in the UK think of the Fire Brigade so I think the term should continue to used as this is about a UK 999 service.
:Similarly ambulance has been changed to paramedic.  Most UK ambulance service use that word in their name.  Most but not not all emergency ambulances carry paramedics.  People normally ask for an ambulance when calling for 999 not a paramedic.  
:"state-run" also seems unnecessary, most emergency services are state-run but not all.  Mountain Rescue is mostly organised by the police in Scotland but not in England and Wales.  The RNLI is not state-run either and I am sure there others which are not. --jmb 22:21, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I would think it should read "police, fire and ambulance" as that is the phrase usually used.  I can't imagine the emergency operator asking if someone wants "Police, Fire & Rescue or Paramedics".  --jmb 20:36, 12 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Besides, all the ambulances I see around (Worcestershire) say "AMBULANCE" in big letters on the front. They may say "Paramedic" as well - I haven't looked too closely for a long time - but they certainly haven't stopped saying "Ambulance". 86.136.251.18 00:51, 11 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: The operator will simply ask "Emergency; Which service?". If you're unsure they'll generally prompt with "Police, Fire, or Ambulance?". "Paramedics" is not a term in use for the UK in terms of emergency call handling. 82.69.207.193 16:13, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Terminology

message: I believe there was another reason for 999 being chosen other than the one in the artice (dial design) or listed above.
Outside London, in the pre-Subscriber trunk dialling (STD) days, exchanges were broken up heirarchically into "town" mian exchanges and "village" sub-exchanges. Only main exchanges had operators on duty.
Village exchanges were given dialling codes typically 81, 82 etc. To get from a village to a town you always dialled 9.
* If subscriber in the town wished to dial villageA 234, he dialled 81 234.
* If he wished to dial villageB 234, he dialled 82 234.
* If a number in villageA wanted to dial town 5678, he dialed 9 5678.
* If he wished to dial villageB 234, he dialled 982 234.
When they invented STD, and the STD code for the town was 0543, that for villageA was 054381 etc.
Thus the only number that would work in both towns and villages was 999. The "real" number was town 99. If you were in the town, 99 would work, if you were in the village, you needed to dial 9 99. The number was published as 999 for consistency.
All the above is from memory, can anybody provde a citation? TiffaF 12:57, 16 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Also though a code like 81 might be used, it would probably take you from one village to another village.  Dialling 9 would normally take you to the next exchange up the hierarchy.  --jmb 16:15, 16 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Reason for 999 being chosen

message: This might be useful [999 celebrates its 70th birthday]. I found it looking for the story about 111 (which I'd heard 10 years ago working for BT), there's probably other things in there that can be added. Bazzargh (talk) 01:56, 3 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: BT history of 999

message: Are there any BT, C&W etc. operators out there? If so, i'd like to begin by saying that I have always been very impressed with your professionalism and reliability. I have never once come across a bad operator and I really think that that say's something.
Could you enlighten me as to how you recieve calls and your procedures for passing them on to the relevant service and if there is much difference between passing them to each service.. i.e. different protocols/expectations for Ambo, Fire and Police? Also what happens if you cannot get through to a force and have to keep the caller on the line for 2 minutes, or longer... how does that feel... what do you do?
many thanks  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.208.244.188 (talk) 23:28, 19 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: BT/C&W etc. operators

message: I'm a 999 Operator with BT in Bangor, Wales and some of details in the article are incorrect.
*"If the caller is unsure as to which service they require, the operator will advise according to the situation" is wrong. In that situation, we would default to the police.
*"If an incident requires more than one service, for instance a Road Traffic Collision with injuries and trapped persons, depending on the service the caller has chosen, the service will alert the other services for the caller" is partially correct. In the first instance, the BT/C&W Operator will advise the caller to stay on the line after connection to the first service requested, where we will connect to the next service. The EA may mention that they will let the other service(s) know, but the BT/C&W Operators still need to contact them regardless.
*Previously, the operator had to start the connection to the emergency service control room by stating the location of the operator, followed by the caller’s telephone number, i.e. "Bangor connecting 01248 300 000" is also not totally accurate. While EISEC is in use, not all EAs (Emergency Authorities) have this service available to them. In those cases, we still need pass our location details and the caller's number.
HDC7777 (talk) 16:17, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Errors in the "Procedures in the United Kingdom" section of the article

message: New article = 999 (Emergency telephone number UK).  Jamesyboy2468 (talk) 18:47, 11 September 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: I have reverted the changes and converted the new article to a re-direct. This fork makes no sense. The 999 number originated in the UK and discussing use in other countries has no sensible context without referring in detail to the British history and use. The new article therefore serves no purpose. The original article was not over-long and was not in need of  dividing up. Please put any proposals here first before making further article creations along the same lines. Please see WP:BRD for further guidance. Thank you  Velella  Velella Talk   21:19, 11 September 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: Ok thanks for the clarification. Jamesyboy2468 (talk) 21:22, 11 September 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Split UK section into new article

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thread_title: External links modified

message: Silent solution 55  - that is not History.  It is Procedure, and in addition there should be a link from Abandoned Calls. 94.30.84.71 (talk) 10:21, 20 October 2018 (UTC)
thread_title: Silent solution 55

message: I believe Phone fraud is relevant to emergency telephone number, what do you guys think?  FRAUDSTERS (IF THE VICTIM HAS MORE TIME TO CONSIDER / ASK FOR SECOND OPINION THEN THE ATTEMPTED FRAUD IS LIKELY TO FAIL) WANT THE FICTION TO SOUND LIKE 'A REAL EMERGENCY WITH FACTUAL BASIS'. Tony85poon (talk) 02:55, 3 January 2019 (UTC)
thread_title: 'See also' relevance discussion

message: What is the point of including a picture of an American (presumably Bell System) rotary phone in this article? These were never legally used in the UK, all phones being rented from Post Office Telephones until deregulation in the 1980s. British phones had different dial markings, and a number of technical differences including ringing arrangements. --Ef80 (talk) 14:50, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Image of US phone 

message: My friend is a duck 31.124.138.122 (talk) 16:09, 30 June 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  My friend died 

message: Hellow I'm from india i am EMT in 108 ambulance in India how can i join in a EMT ambulance in other country please give some information....? 106.66.57.82 (talk) 08:41, 5 June 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Vyoma emt