Emergency numbers in Switzerland: when to call 144, 117, 118 and 1414

Switzerland's emergency numbers are few, and it is best to know them before you need them. 144 calls an ambulance, 117 the police, 118 the fire service. 145 connects to the poisons centre. 112 is the single European number: it works throughout Europe and, in Switzerland, connects to the police alarm centre for any kind of emergency.

To these is added 1414, the number of Rega, the Swiss Air-Rescue service.

When to call Rega and when to call 144

The distinction between 144 and 1414 is the one people hesitate over most. 144 is the number to dial for ordinary medical emergencies, those where an ambulance can reach the scene.

1414 should be dialled when the injured person is in a place that is hard to reach, when the approach route is too long for ground rescuers, or when it is clear that a rescue helicopter is needed. That is the typical situation on a mountain hike, on a rock face, at an alpine farm or in a valley floor without a road.

In the mountains, besides the phone call, the alarm can be raised with the Rega app, which transmits the location automatically. That is a real advantage when you cannot describe precisely where you are, and the precision of the location is the single most important piece of information in the call.

Dialling the wrong number is not a serious mistake: the control centres are linked and pass calls on. Losing time hunting for the right number in a critical situation is worse.

In Ticino

The canton combines several of the conditions in which air rescue becomes decisive: narrow side valleys, long trails, alpine farms reachable only on foot and heavy hiking traffic in the summer months. In recent weeks helicopters have been used both for forest fires and to fly water up to alpine farms that had run dry.

It is worth saving the numbers in your contacts and installing the app before setting out, because in areas with weak coverage opening an app store is not always possible.