What is the first thing to say in a 999 or 911 call?
Say where you are, in a form the operator can type: a full address, otherwise a postcode, a junction or a landmark. Then say what has happened in one short sentence, and how many people need help.
Say where you are, in a form the operator can type: a full address, otherwise a postcode, a junction or a landmark. Then say what has happened in one short sentence, and how many people need help. In the UK the switchboard operator asks which service you need first, so ambulance may be your first word. In the US the dispatcher usually asks for the address first. Either way, location outranks diagnosis.
If the line is answered by a switchboard rather than a paramedic, do not start with the story. Say the service you need, then the address, then the problem in six words. Rehearse the six words rather than the paragraph: collapsed and not breathing, heavy bleeding, chest pain, smoke in the building. A short phrase survives panic better than a complete sentence does.