The emergency services are one thing in the UK you can still get for free! The main ones are the Police, Ambulance and Fire services. You can contact all of these by calling 999 which is free from any phone, including payphones.

 

Remember, only call these services if you have a genuine emergency! When you call 999, an operator will answer – just tell them which of the three services you require and they will transfer you. Try to stay calm and explain first where you are calling from, and then what the problem is.

 
Often, the emergency services will work together by sending more than one service if they think it fits the circumstances. But to help you, there are some guidelines below which explain the main jobs of the police, fire and ambulance services in the UK. This will help you know which service you should call, and whether or not your problem is an emergency.

Fire Service

-                     fighting fires, or protecting people and property from fire
-                     rescuing people from traffic accidents
-                     rescue operations in less-likely incidents such as flooding, terrorist attacks or where people are trapped

Ambulance 

  

Serious problems with a person’s health:

 

-                     chest pain
-                     difficulty in breathing
-                     loss of consciousness
-                     severe loss of blood
-                     severe burns and scalds
-                     choking
-                     fitting/convulsions
-                     drowning
-                     severe allergic reactions
-                     any other life-threatening issue

Police

Responding to situations where a crime is being committed against a person or a property – only call if the crime is happening now, or if someone is in danger. This could include many things from burglary (stealing from a house or other property) and theft (stealing from a person) to violent crimes such as rape and assault.

If you need to report a crime where it is not an emergency situation, you must call your local police service. The easiest way to find this is to type it into a search on the internet, (eg. Liverpool police), then click on the ‘contact us’ link. Or call a telephone directory service.

Other emergencies

Serious health problems – if you are having a problem which needs immediate hospital treatment and you can get to a hospital, you go to the nearest Accident and Emergency unit (A&E), where they will be able to help.

It is important to find out where this is in your area in case you have such a problem. You can ask someone you live or work with, or go online and search for ‘accident and emergency’ in your town and you should easily find what you are looking for.

Mountain rescue

If you find yourself in trouble at the top of a mountain in the UK, and you have your mobile phone with you, you can call 999 and ask for ‘police and mountain rescue’ and tell them where you are!

Gas leaks

This does not merit a 999 call, but is definitely an emergency! If you can smell gas around your house, or another property, call the ‘National Grid’ on 0800 111 999 immediately.

After making the call, you should:

-                     open doors and windows
-                     turn the gas off at the meter
-                     NOT use flames such as matches or cigarette lighters
-                     NOT use light switches and plug sockets


By Matt Taylor

To be listed here click

 

WHO TO CALL

Your house is on fire – fire brigade
Someone is very sick – ambulance
You’ve been burgled - police
One of your pipes is leaking – plumber
There are rats in your house – pest control
Your roof has collapsed – builders

GRAMMAR SPOT

Prohibition
When we want to express prohibition in the present we use can’t and mustn’t + verb:

He can’t go to the doctor, he’s too sick.
You mustn’t switch your lights on if you smell gas.

(mustn’t is usually more like a direct order)

When we report prohibition we use not allowed to + verb:

The police won’t allow you to go back into the house immediately.

To talk about prohibition in the past we use couldn’t and wasn’t/weren’t allowed to + verb:

He couldn’t / wasn’t allowed to turn the water on until the pipe was repaired. 

Present                                              Past
can’t                                                    couldn’t
don’t have to                                      didn’t have to
must/have to/have got to                 had to
mustn’t                                               wasn’t/weren’t allowed to
should/ought to                                should have/ought to have
need                                                   needed
needn’t/don’t need                          didn’t need to/needn’t have
                                              

JUST FOR FUN!

Fire Idioms

an old flame = an old boyfriend or girlfriend
no smoke without fire = if something bad is being said about someone/something, there’s usually a reason for it
adds more fuel to the fire = makes the situation worse
a baptism of fire = a difficult introduction to a new job or situation
a blaze of publicity = an impressive or noticeable show
burn my bridges = to do something that makes it impossible to return to your previous situation
fired my imagination = create a strong emotion