* fire
The call for help in first aid is only a step of the emergency action principles, typically made after assessing the scene.
practice is to call for help after assessing the scene, and if it is safe to approach then supplementing the call with information on the state of victims.
In first aid this is used to summon bystanders if not already present, for instance to direct them to call for help by telephone, control bleeding with direct pressure, or other tasks.
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With any telephone, wired or wireless, anywhere in the world, one can call an emergency telephone number for emergency assistance.
* “112” can be used in addition to any local emergency number within the European Union and on GSM mobile phone networks worldwide.
If the local emergency number is unknown, it is recommended to try the four most popular variations, 999, 911, 112 and 119, as even if these are not official emergency numbers in the country, they may still have been assigned such a status by the telecommunications company due to their popularity elsewhere.
Failing this, one may dial the operator (often by dialing “0”) and state clearly that it is an emergency.
When possible, it is recommended to use a wired, or landline, telephone: the quality of the communication is better, and the call can be easily located (a call for help is useless when the rescue team does not know where to go).
Note, specifically, that VoIP services generally do not provide access to the emergency services (See VoIP#Emergency calls).
In some cases the operator will know the number from which the call originates, as it may passed on automatically by the telephone network.
A phone number can also physically locate the caller in some cases as in Enhanced 911 in the USA, although this should never be relied on.
3. Give the exact location of the event, including the name of the city, the name of the building, or on the road the number of the road, and the direction of the lane.
4. Describe the situation: illness or accident, and in the latter case, specific danger, number of casualties.
5. When there are only a few casualties, the description of their general state (alert or unalert, breathing or not) and of the affliction (physical trauma, disease, other).
In some countries, misuse of an emergency number may result in a fine or charge by the phone company.
Being lost or stranded is generally not an emergency and one should dial an operator (often by dialing “0”) for help instead.
Some places, such as train stations, college campuses, or highways, are equipped with emergency call boxes.
When available, the use of these call boxes is the best solution: the call can be easily located, the person who answers the call knows the environment and will be able to guide the emergency services.
This can be particularly true on the road: a call on a cell phone without the location of the accident is of limited value.
If the caller has access to a two-way radio of any sort, then the caller may transmit the words “EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY” followed by the location and the nature of the emergency.
There is often a transmit button on the microphone that must be pressed to talk and released to listen.
If the caller is using a marine VHF radio, the caller should set the channel to “16” (≡ 156.8 MHz).
If the caller is using a CB radio, the caller should try setting the channel to either “9” (≡ 27.065 MHz, designated as an emergency channel) or “19” (≡ 27.185 MHz, used by truckers).
If the caller is using a type of radio that they are unfamiliar with, then the caller should first try using the currently set channel or frequency.
If there is no response after several attempts, the caller should write down the current frequency and try others that appear to be in use, returning to the original frequency periodically.
The emergency code word “MAYDAY” should only be used aboard a vessel or aircraft where there may be imminent loss of life.
Using it otherwise can endanger the lives of emergency responders tens or hundreds of miles or kilometers away, because helicopters and aircraft will respond to a mayday call with limited fuel supplies and risk crashing in order to pinpoint the caller's location.
This has caused fatal crashes several times in open-ocean and in the Canadian and Alaskan wilderness.
One may contact a person hundreds of miles or kilometers away who is not familiar with the caller's area.
In a rural area, the following information may be given: a highway number and exit, a map or GPS coordinates if there is time, or the route from the caller's location to the nearest landmark.
They may be given advice on how to proceed depending on the capabilities of the person or dispatch center they are speaking to.
Survival training includes ground to air signals that can be used to signal passing aircraft with flares, mirrors or marks made on the ground or snow.
Again, these signals should only be used in an actual emergency and destroyed when the person or group using them is rescued.
Pilots will take extreme risks to locate and report what they believe to be an emergency signal from the ground.
When in mountainous areas the international distress signal is 6 blasts of a whistle or flashes from a torch, followed by a one minute silence, followed by the signals again.