November the 23rd, 2022 - In this edition of How to Croatia, I'll take you through the ins and outs Croatian emergency services, be there a fire, sudden chest pain, a broken down car or an emergency out at sea.
Forget your 999s and your 911s. 112 is the number you’ll need to memorise when it comes to the Croatian emergency services. While we always hope no tragedy of any kind will befall us, the chance is always there. 112 is a free phone number which can be called 24/7 from a fixed phone (landline) or mobile phone to reach the fire department, to call for an ambulance, to contact the police or for rescue purposes.
While dialling 112 will get you through to the emergency services who will then put you through to the service you need. Calls to this number can be answered in English, German, Italian, Hungarian, Slovak & Czech, and Croatian of course.
The average time to answer a 112 call is a mere five seconds. An SMS (text messaging) service is also available for those with disabilities which may affect their hearing, verbal communication or understanding.
You can also dial the following numbers depending on the Croatian emergency services you require. These are also all free and can be called at any time, from any type of device:
192 - Police
193 - Fire department
194 - Emergency medical help
195 - Maritime search & rescue
1987 - Help on the road (HAK)
195 - Help at sea
Things to note
Among the various services offered by HAK, a particularly useful one for tourists is the English-language update on all current road conditions. The service also includes updates on border queues and ferry delays.
During the intensely hot summer months, wildfire breakouts are unfortunately becoming more and more common, especially on the coast and in the tinder dry scrub of the Dalmatian hinterland. It is of paramount importance that rubbish is taken away and disposed of properly. All it takes is a shard of glass glittering in the scorching Croatian sun or a carelessly tossed cigarette butt to set off a blaze that can become rapidly out of all control in such a dry, baked environment. It goes without saying that devastating wildfires can and do occur naturally in such temperatures, but anything we can do to prevent them starting should be in the forefront of our minds.
The Croatian Mountain Rescue Service (in Croatian, Hrvatska Gorska Služba Spašavanja, or HGSS) is also typically kept extremely busy during the height of the tourist season thanks to people attempting to hike up the Biokovo mountain in Primark flip flops, do a bit of free island hopping on a gigantic inflatable flamingo or doughnut, or even try swimming from Split to Brač. Can’t be that far, can it? Oh yes, it can.
HGSS ran a funny campaign a few years ago in a humorous attempt to prevent people from succumbing to their ill-informed, ill-equipped and even more ill-experienced adventurous side, but despite their best efforts, people end up in all sorts of sticky situations with each and every passing year, particularly in summer. Why anyone would ever want to try to climb a rugged, imposing Dalmatian mountain which has probably claimed more than a few lives over the centuries in 3 euro flip flops and armed with half a bottle of flat Coke for hydration in the horrific August heat I don’t know, but maybe I’m the weird one.
For more on the practicalities of moving to and living in Croatia, make sure to keep up with our How to Croatia articles in our lifestyle section.
