YANBU: If you ask any ordinary citizen or expatriate about the emergency number for the Coast Guard, he will definitely not have an answer. He may seek the assistance of a friend or ask to choose one of multiple answers as in the famous television quiz, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.”

The reason behind this is the existence of different emergency phone numbers for the different government departments one might need to call in an emergency. The traffic police, the Civil Defense, the police, the Coast Guard and the Saudi Red Crescent all have their own emergency numbers.

This leads to confusion about which number to call in an emergency. That is if residents are in the know of all numbers and can remember them offhand.

We often hear and read in local newspapers about the late arrival of the Red Crescent or the Civil Defense at accidents, fires or crimes. The basis of this delay is not their slackness to move but their not being informed quickly enough.

Arab News asked a number of officials, citizens and expatriates a simple question: Why not have a single emergency number to call when there is an emergency?

A random group of 20 Saudi citizens and expatriates were asked about the emergency numbers they knew. The emergency number of the road safety police (996) was unknown to 18 of them. About 40 percent of them mixed up the numbers of the Civil Defense (998) and the Red Crescent (997).

However, the number they all remembered was 999 because it was easy to memorize and is clearly written on security patrol vehicles which roam streets day and night.

The result was that about 80 percent of them did not know any emergency number, something underscoring the need to establish a unified number for all emergency services.

Col. Mansour Bitaihan Al-Johani, spokesman for the Civil Defense in Madinah, welcomed the idea of establishing a single number to call in emergency situations, describing it as “unique.” He said it would help facilitate the work of various departments and save time and effort.

“It is good to have a single number to call when the intervention of various government departments such as the Civil Defense, the traffic police, the Red Crescent and others is required,” he said. He added that it would expedite the intervention of the concerned department for the rescue and saving of lives.

Col. Al-Johani said a unified number would enable the concerned department to pick up the call and act immediately as soon as information is received.

He added that although the Civil Defense has direct hot lines with a number of public institutions such as the police, the security forces, the traffic police, the Red Crescent, city municipalities, the governorate and the ministries of health, electricity and water and others, the idea of a unified telephone number to call at times of emergencies would enable quick action and mitigate losses and damages.

A source at the Traffic Department who did not want to be identified described the idea as excellent but said it needed more in-depth study prior to implementation. He added that a mechanism needs to be established to ensure the scheme’s success.

People polled in the survey agreed with the proposal of setting up a unified number for all emergency calls. Adil Al-Harbi, Mamdouh Al-Otaibi, Faisal Al-Mizani and Waleed Al-Johani, all Saudis, welcomed the suggestion and agreed it would speed up the time it takes to reach emergencies.

Hatim Al-Sharif and Abdullah Al-Mutairi, meanwhile, called for the setting up of systems similar to those in the US and Europe.

Khaled Al-Suhali was also enthusiastic about the proposal for a single number for all emergencies citing a personal experience with the Red Crescent. “My mother suffered a heart attack and I called the Red Crescent on 997. I informed them about the condition of my mother and asked them to come quickly.

“I tried to describe the location to them but they could not understand. I found out that I was talking to their operations room and not their center which was only 10km away from my home. Although I explained the condition of my mother to them, no one directed me what to do until their arrival.”

Al-Suhali said that emergency operators should be experienced enough to give instructions to people until paramedics arrive. “Any mistake from our part in such cases might lead to serious complications,” he said.

All those surveyed felt the establishment of a special unit with a unified emergency telephone number to deal with all kinds of accidents is the need of the hour.