There comes a time in one’s migrant life when we, sadly, have an emergency and need to call the police or an ambulance. What number do we dial? What do we say? Who will come help me? While we would like to never think about this, the truth is that this type of information comes in handy.

Dutch Police (photo taken by Nicolas Vigier found on Flickr.com)

What number do I dial?

I was quite disappointed when I found out 911 was not the emergency number in the Netherlands. It is so engrained in my brain that I am afraid one day I will dial 911 and hope to get the Dutch police. The emergency number to call in the Netherlands is 112 which doesn’t seem too difficult to remember. If your emergency is animal-related, make sure to call the animal emergency number at 144.

What do I say?

It would be impossible to go through all the possible needs for emergency services, however, the following phrases and/or questions might be helpful:

Ik wil een ongeluk aangeven – I would like to report an accident.

Ik wil een misdrijf aangeven – I would like to report a crime.

Er zijn gewonden – There are people injured.

Wij hebben een ambulance nodig – We need an ambulance.

Wij hebben de politie nodig – We need the police.

Wij hebben de brandweer nodig – We need the firefighters.

The emergency service people might ask the following questions:

Wat is er gebeurd? – What happened?

Zijn er gewonden? – Are there (people) injured?

Wat is u address? – What is your address?

Wat is u telephone nummer? – What is your phone number?

Who will come help me?

The emergency service personal are pretty similar to those in many other countries. The politie handle most of the crime-related issues. While in the bigger cities the police might have more than one office, in small villages the police might be a few villages away.

For fire-related issues, the brandweer is your answer. These, like the police, are not available in every small village, but rather in strategical points. The majority of the firemen and women in the Netherlands are volunteers. According to their website, 22,500 of the 27,000 are volunteers. These volunteers receive the same amount of training hours as those who work with the fire department. For more information, you can visit their website www.brandweer.nl

The ambulance or the ziekenwagen is the ambulance. Many of the ambulance personnel have training to give first aid, and they can also take you to the nearest hospital.

For all animal-related issues, the dierenpolitie is your answer. There are police officers as well as ambulance services for animals. The police do not only answer calls of distress, but also reports of animals being abused. During the summer months, it is not uncommon to read on their Facebook page about investigations into cows not being given water and dogs being left inside cars. For more information about the animal police, check a previous blog.

The following video is part of a campaign to promote calling 112 for suspicious activity. What has been your emergency service experience in the Netherlands?

https://youtu.be/_rnRldYHO5w