Basque Country Emergency Information: You Need to Know this!

28/06/2022

If you think that calling 911 is universal, then you'd be wrong. It's nearly July and tourist season is ramping up. If you've never been to Basque Country or you are a little fuzzy on how to call the police or an ambulance this article is for you. 911 may be the one stop that hits all emergency services numbers in North America but in Europe, there are some differences.

Contacting emergency services in Basque Country and Navarre is the same process as in other places, however, the number is different.

MEMORIZE THIS NUMBER:

112

IT COULD SAVE A LIFE!

If you are coming from North America you are used to 911 being your one stop fits all emergencies phone number. In Basque Country, Spain, and Europe in general the emergency phone number is not 911. What you need to do is call 112. Calling 112 will work for Police, Ambulance, and Fire.

Police

The provincial or state police for Basque Country are named the Ertzaintza. They are also referred to as the Polizia. As well as reaching them through 112 in the case of an emergency they can also be reached in a number of other ways in non-emergency situations. The phone number to reach the Ertzaintza in non-emergencies is 900 10 35 84. There are other ways that they can be reached as well;

Email: contacta_app@ertzaintza.eus

Text: 677 99 95 55

Whatsapp: 677 99 95 55

Mail: Secretaria General de la Ertzaintza - Larrauri Mendotxe Bidea, 18 - 48950 Erandio-Bizkaia.

Ambulance

If you have a medical emergency while in Basque Country please dial 112. Basque Country has some of the best health care in all of Europe and the world. If you are needing an ambulance or a hospital you will find a quick and efficient response. That being said, like any country that isn't your own you should always have supplementary travel insurance. Just because you will get quality treatment from the medical industry does not mean that it is free. It is true that universal healthcare is established and effective in Basque Country, however if you do not possess a NIE (a residency card) you do not have free access to the system.

Fire Department

Finding yourself in a situation where you need to contact the fire department is quite rare. However, if you do need these emergency services of the fire department call 112. Basque Country's firefighters are very well trained and have a rapid response time, historically.

Embassy

The other thing that you should do if you find yourself in an emergency, accident, or a victim of a crime is to contact your embassy. Here is some Embassy's contact information just in case you ever need it:

Australia: Madrid Tel: 913 53 66 00

Canada: Madrid Tel: 913 82 84 00

Ireland: Madrid Tel: 914 36 40 93

New Zealand: Madrid Tel: 915 23 02 26

United Kingdom: Madrid Tel: 917 14 63 00

United States: Madrid Tel: 915 87 22 00

Finally, if you are thinking that the telephone numbers seem like they are missing a number they aren't. Telephone numbers in Europe only have nine numbers. If you find that the number you are dialing is not working you may need to add the country code which is +34 for Spain.

The country code for North America is +001 if you find yourself not being able to connect with those there.