Emergency service

Emergency services have one or more dedicated emergency telephone numbers reserved for critical emergency calls. In many countries, one number is used for all of the emergency services (e.g. 911 in many parts of the Americas, 999 in the United Kingdom, 112 in continental Europe, 000 in Australia). In some countries, each emergency service has its own emergency number (e.g. 110 for police, 118 for coast guard, 119 for fire and medical in Japan; 110 for police, 119 for fire, 120 for medical in China).

In some countries, the availability of emergency services may rely on the recipient giving payment or holding suitable insurance or other surety for receiving the service.

Types of emergency services

Primary emergency services

Primary emergency services are emergency services that provide basic emergency assistance and care. They can be summoned directly by the public. There are three primary emergency services and they are listed in the following order.

• Police – These agencies provide law enforcement, crime suppression and prevention, criminal investigation, and maintenance of public order. There are a variety of similar law enforcement agencies such as gendarmerie, but police are the most common. Law enforcement agencies may differ in jurisdiction (federal police, state police, county police, municipal police, national police, etc.), specific role (water police, special police, etc.), capabilities (auxiliary police, riot police, police tactical unit, etc.), and oversight (private police by private entities, military police by militaries
  • Police officer – Law enforcement, crime suppression, protection of the general public
• Fire departments – These agencies provide fire suppression and protection, fire prevention, special operations and technical rescue response services, emergency medical response services and hazardous materials mitigation. They may be government organizations or private services.
  • Firefighter – Rescue, fire suppression and prevention
• Emergency medical services – These agencies provide emergency medicine, air medical services, patient transport, and technical rescue services. They may be government organizations, private services, or charity-run, and may be their own independent service or part of another agency such as a fire department or health ministry.
  • Paramedics – Medical aid, assistance and rescue of injured people

Specialized emergency services

Specialized emergency services are emergency services that are not considered one of the three primary emergency services. They can be provided by one of the primary emergency services (often as a division or unit) or by a separate governmental or private body.

Specialized emergency services may typically be contacted and requested by the public, unless they are a division or unit of a primary emergency service. They may also often be requested by primary emergency services to handle certain emergencies or augment existing emergency services personnel. Some of these services may be location-specific and have jurisdiction over specific areas or situations, with little if any authority outside them.

In some jurisdictions, specialized emergency services may be allowed to use emergency lights on their vehicles, often yellow or amber lights unless they are already part of a primary emergency service, in which case they typically use the emergency lighting configuration used by their respective emergency service.

• Animal control service – Animal assistance, ensuring public safety around animals
• Bomb squad – Bomb disposal, hazardous material disposal, weapons and munitions disposal
• Border guard – Border control, border security, border protection
• Bylaw enforcement – Enforcement of local ordinance
• Civil defense – Disaster protection, wartime civilian protection, rescue aid
• Coast guard – Maritime law enforcement and rescue within national waters
• Conservation officer – Wildlife protection, wildlife law enforcement, hunting and fishing enforcement
• Coroner – Death confirmation, cause of death identification
  • Medical examiner – Death investigation
• Emergency management – Incident management, coordination in major emergencies
• Humanitarian aid – Basic aid and care for people in need
• Incident response team – Specialized incident response
• Lifeguards – Medical aid and rescue at pools, beaches, shorelines, dive spots
• Military – National defense, internal security, emergency assistance (in certain situations and jurisdictions)
• Mobile Crisis – Mental health crisis response including evaluations, de-escalation, and referral to other services
• Park rangers – Law enforcement in parks and nature reserves
• Poison control center – Advice on poison exposure
• Prison officer – Law enforcement and first response within correctional facilities
• Public utilities – Safeguarding and maintaining utilities and infrastructure
• Public works – Assessing, cleaning, and repairing infrastructure
• Roadside assistance – Aiding motorists in need of assistance, conducting vehicle maintenance and repairs
• Search and rescue – Rescue of missing, trapped, or at-risk victims
  • Avalanche rescue – Rescue of victims in avalanches
  • Cave rescue – Rescue of victims in caves and underground areas
  • Mountain rescue – Rescue of victims on mountains or in wilderness areas
  • Urban search and rescue – Rescue of victims in urban areas
  • Air-sea rescue – Rescue of victims in air and water areas
• Security guards – Asset protection, property protection, private enforcement
• Ski patrol – Medical aid and rescue at ski resorts and mountain resorts
• Tow truck – Moving disabled, impounded, or illegally-parked vehicles
• Wildland firefighting – Wildfire suppression