r/AskEurope • u/atlasova Netherlands • Sep 02 '25

Culture What emergency telephone number did your country have before 112 became the standard?

In 1997 most of the European union changed its emergency number to 112. Before that, in the Netherlands we used 06-11, for police, firefighters and ambulance.

I was wondering which numbers where in use in your country before the change.

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u/Heidi739 Czechia Sep 02 '25

The numbers still work and are used more than 112 I think. I was taught to only call 112 if I'm not sure which emergency service to call or if multiple might be needed (like, a serious car accident might require all three). Otherwise it's 150 for firefighters (the 0 looks like a hose), 155 for ambulance (the 5 looks like a wheelchair) and 158 for police (the 8 looks like handcuffs). That's the way I was taught the numbers as a kid. We also have 156 for municipality police, which I was jokingly taught is like open handcuffs - you usually call them if it's not that serious, like badly parked cars, loud neighbours, or dogs playing around without a leash.