International · Emergency cards you can read in five seconds
What to do first
Short cards for the first minutes of an emergency. Pick your situation, read the first line, and act. The cards work offline and come in every language the site offers.
Choose the situation
- Emergency numbersOne number for the whole EU, and what to say when someone answers.
- CPR and resuscitationAn adult is not breathing normally. Push hard, push fast, keep going.
- ChokingThe person cannot speak, cough or breathe. Give five back blows, then five thrusts, and repeat.
- Heart attackChest pain that will not go away. Sit down, call, do not drive.
- StrokeFace drooping, arm weak, speech strange. Note the time and call now.
- Severe bleedingBlood soaking through, spurting or pooling. Press and do not let go.
- UnconsciousnessNot responding but breathing. On their side, airway open, watch them.
- BurnsCool with running water for twenty minutes. Nothing else goes on it.
- FracturesDeformed, swollen, cannot bear weight. Support it, do not straighten it.
- HypothermiaShivering, slurred, sleepy. Dry, wrapped, warmed slowly from the middle.
- Heat exhaustion and heatstrokeHot day, weak and sick: cool and drink. Hot and confused: call now and cool hard.
- Bites and stingsClean, cool, watch the face and breathing. Snake: keep still, no cutting, no sucking.
- DrowningReach or throw, do not go. Out of the water, five breaths, then CPR.
- Electric shockCut the power before you touch anyone. Then check breathing.
- Fire safetyAlert, get out, close the door, call from outside.
- Fire extinguishersRight extinguisher, base of the flames, exit behind you.
- Gas leak and carbon monoxideGas smell: no switches, no flames, open windows, get out. CO has no smell.
- Chemical exposureGet out of the cloud, wash it off, keep the label.
- Industrial accidentA siren or plant alarm means go inside, shut the air out, tune in.
- Road accidentWarn the traffic first, then the injured. Helmets stay on, casualties stay put.
- FloodsGo to higher ground. Never drive or walk into moving water.
- Storm and high windGet inside before it hits, away from glass and out from under trees. In lightning, stay out of open fields and away from trees.
- EarthquakeDrop, cover, hold on. After: expect aftershocks, check gas, take the stairs.
- Natural disastersKnow the warning signal, keep a bag ready and agree a plan.
- Emergency kit72 hours on your own: water, food, light, power, papers, medicines, cash.
- EvacuationLeave by the marked route, help anyone who needs it, and count everyone at the assembly point.
- Workplace safetyRisk assessments, trained first aiders and the right to stop unsafe work.
- Armed conflictAt the warning, shelter below ground. Stay away from windows, with two walls between you and outside.
- Civil unrestKeep your distance. Move sideways out of the crowd and stay on your feet.
Use at your own risk. For education and research only. Not medical advice. Check the numbers and rules for the country you are in, because they change. Before you rely on these cards, ask a medical professional or a fire safety specialist to review them. Disclaimer
Emergency numbers
Free from any phone and network, even with no credit
- 112 One emergency number for the EU and 70+ countries
- 911 United States and Canada
- 999 United Kingdom and Ireland, where 112 also works
- 000 Australia
- 116 000 EU hotline for missing children
- 116 123 EU emotional support helpline
112 reaches police, fire and ambulance anywhere in the European Union. It works from a locked phone, with no credit, and on any network that has a signal, including ones that are not your own operator's. Most member states accept calls without a SIM card. Germany blocked such calls in 2009 and France in 2004. Outside the EU, look up the local number before you travel.
Legal background
Workplace safety and first aid are regulated by law. Below are the frameworks most often cited across borders.
- Council Directive 89/391/EECThe EU framework directive on health and safety at work. Employers have to assess risks and organise first aid, firefighting and evacuation.
- ILO Convention C155An international labour standard for occupational safety and health.
- ISO 7010Standard shapes and colours for safety signs. A red circle carries the same meaning in every country.
- ERC Guidelines 2021Resuscitation guidance from the European Resuscitation Council. Training providers across Europe teach from it.
- Duty to help: it depends on the countryMost continental European countries make it a criminal offence to fail to help a person in danger, provided you can help without risking yourself. Calling the emergency number normally satisfies that duty. England, Wales and most of the United States have no such general duty, but once you start helping you are expected to act reasonably.