When it comes to emergency situations it’s always best to be prepared ahead of time. There’s a reason families are encouraged to practice their fire evacuation procedures regularly. With most emergencies, the best thing you can do to prepare is educate yourself on the different services available.
Knowing who to contact for what can reduce the amount of time it takes before help arrives and, especially with life-threatening emergencies, every second counts. The big three (ambulance, fire and police) are the most well-known emergency services. They can be accessed in an emergency by dialing 000 but also have their own phone numbers for non life-threatening situations.
Ambulance
Ambulances should be called in life-threatening situations or where a person’s injury prevents them from moving without incurring further injury. As ambulances can take some time to reach a person if it is not a life-threatening emergency, injuries like a dislocated finger, while painful, can receive first aid at a GP if you have someone to drive you there.
Fire fighters
Fire is one of the most devastating things in the world, and will destroy property and people alike. No matter how small the fire is, the fire department should be called regardless. Even if the fire has been extinguished by civilians by the time they arrive, the fire department will douse the area such that the chance of re-ignition is as low as possible. They can also identify the cause or start location of the fire and advise on how to prevent it happening again.
Police
The third and final of the triple 0 emergency services, the police are responsible for ensuring laws are upheld and offenders are prosecuted and punished accordingly. Police should be contacted when there has been a criminal breach of law and their services are required in immediately diffusing or resolving the situation.
Police should also be contacted in cases where their authority is needed to maintain peace around the emergency site, even if they are not directly required for resolving the emergency. The most common situation this arises in is a car crash, where they may be needed to direct traffic until the wreckage can be cleared and the roads made safe again.
The Poisons Information Centre
The Poisons Information Centre is a service dedicated to providing assistance and information to anyone who has taken the wrong amount of medicine, overdosed or been poisoned. They can be contacted on 131 126, all day every day. You should never wait to contact the poisons hotline. Call them the moment you suspect you or someone you know may have ingested a toxic substance.
After hours plumber
Not all emergencies are life-threatening. A severe water leak, or other plumbing related issue can cost a lot of money in water use and water damage and can cause problems in other parts of the house if not fixed promptly. Many plumbers offer 24-hour service as it is, but you should always check beforehand and have a preselected port of call for after-hours plumbing emergencies.
24-hour electricians
Like the plumbing, electrics can fail at any time. Electrical failures are much more dangerous though and must be addressed as soon as possible after they occur. After-hours residential electricians are usually no different to the regular kind, especially as most residential and commercial electricians will offer service around the clock.
Indeed, 24-hour electricians in Perth are fairly common but like with plumbers you should definitely check that your first choice does offer it so you don’t get caught out in a pinch.
In the case of a fallen or damaged power line, however, you should contact the power company themselves directly, rather than a local perth electrician as even an emergency electrician won’t have the equipment necessary to facilitate the repairs.
Roadside assistance and towing
While a serious car accident will necessitate calling 000, serious car trouble will require the services of a mechanic or tow truck. Most, if not all, roadside assistance services will work around the clock, but you should always check, just to make sure. Private towing companies, meanwhile, may offer 24 hour service as well. In these cases you will have to check to be sure.
General Practitioners
Though you should always call an ambulance in a life-threatening situation, sometimes, particularly in the case of illnesses, the situation, though serious, will not warrant an ambulance. These situations can usually be resolved by an after-hours medical clinic. After hours GPs are usually marked as such, and will be available all throughout the night for consultation and visitation.
What else can you do?
While this list has made attempts to be as exhaustive as possible, there may be unique situations that don’t fall into any of the above categories. If you believe you may encounter a situation such as that you are encouraged to do your own research so that you may be adequately prepared.