In an emergency always remember:
to stay calm.
the address of the emergency.
the phone number at the emergency.
phone 111 only in an emergency.

There is a fine for false alarms! All 111 calls are traced so the emergency services know where the call is coming from!

Emergencies are usually life or death situations.

You can contact all 3 emergency services by phoning 111.

If you  have an emergency and need to dial 111 you have to stay calm and know all your details.You need to know the full address of where the emergency is happening and the phone number you are calling from. You should always stay on the line so the operator can keep telling you what to do.

You can call 111 on cellphones and payphones calling 111 is free from all phones in New Zealand.

111 isn't for 'just ringing'!!! Not only will you be wasting the operator’s time. But people who have real emergencies will have to wait. It could mean the difference between life and death.And if you do play around with it you can get fined up to $2000.

111 and the emergency services operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Did you know?

That an emergency is something that happening right now, or it just happened.

The Police, Fire and Ambulance Services are the three emergency services in New Zealand and between them they handle most of the emergencies that happen.

Ambulances are used to safely transport people to hospital when they are seriously hurt. The ambulance officers on board help the people on their way to the hospital.

The Fire Service puts fires out but they also go to emergencies like car crashes; rescue people people trapped down shafts or  bulidings; help to try and save people, animals and buildings when there are floods; rescue people trapped in lifts; clean up petrol and chemical spills, and provide medical care at emergencies -  just to mention a few !of the jobs they do!
 
The police are usually called when a crime is happening, if someone is in danger, or if someone’s property is in danger (See the programme and factsheet 'Police' to see the other jobs they do)

An ambulance can be any vehicle, including a bus, helicopter, a hospital ship or even a horse!

In some countries ambulance officers are known as  paramedics and the ambulances are nicknamed buses.

There are 1,515 paid, 8,000 volunteer and 3,000 rural firefighters, and 428 support staff in New Zealand (Stats New Zealand)

Between 1996-1999 the New Zealand Fire Service went to over 62,000 incidents (Stats New Zealand)

During the Crusades of the 11th Century the Knights of St John received instruction in first-aid treatment from Arab and Greek doctors. The Knights of St John acted as the very first emergency workers, treating soldiers on both sides of the battlefield and bringing in injured people to nearby tents for medical treatment.

In some countries Police cars are known as 'Panda Cars' because they were originally painted in large panels of black and white, or blue (usually light blue) and white.

In England some police cars are known as a 'jam sandwich', because when some of the english police cars cars changed from blue and white colours on their cars to white with a fluorescent orange stripe along the side. people said that the new colours on the car looked like jam sandwiched between two slices of white bread.