Primary emergency services Primary emergency services are emergency services that provide basic emergency assistance and care. They can be summoned directly by the public. There are three primary emergency services and they are listed in the following order. •
Police – These agencies provide
law enforcement,
crime suppression and prevention,
criminal investigation, and maintenance of
public order. There are a variety of similar
law enforcement agencies such as
gendarmerie, but police are the most common. Law enforcement agencies may differ in jurisdiction (
federal police,
state police,
county police (
sheriff),
municipal police,
national police, etc.), specific role (
highway patrol,
special police, etc.), capabilities (
auxiliary police,
police tactical unit, etc.), and oversight (
private police by private entities,
military police by militaries, etc.), but generally share similar purposes. •
Fire departments – These agencies provide
fire suppression and protection,
fire prevention,
special operations and technical rescue response services, emergency medical response services and
hazardous materials mitigation. They may be government organizations or private services. •
Emergency medical services – These agencies provide
emergency medicine,
patient transport, and
technical rescue services. They may be government organizations, private services, or charity-run, and may be their own independent service or part of another agency such as a fire department or health ministry.
Specialized emergency services s on duty at
Santa Monica State Beach in
Los Angeles County, California team at
Ski Montcalm in
Quebec,
Canada in
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park,
Uganda and
Sri Lanka Coast Guard vessels fighting a ship fire Specialized emergency services are emergency services that are not considered one of the three primary emergency services. They can be provided by one of the primary emergency services (often as a division or unit) or by a separate governmental or private body. Specialized emergency services may typically be contacted and requested by the public, unless they are a division or unit of a primary emergency service. They may also often be requested by primary emergency services to handle certain emergencies or augment existing emergency services personnel. Some of these services may be location-specific and have jurisdiction over specific areas or situations, with little if any authority outside them. In some jurisdictions, specialized emergency services may be allowed to use
emergency lights on their vehicles, often yellow or amber lights unless they are already part of a primary emergency service, in which case they typically use the emergency lighting configuration used by their respective emergency service. •
Animal control service – Animal assistance, ensuring public safety around animals •
Bomb squad – Bomb disposal, hazardous material disposal, weapons and munitions disposal •
Border guard – Border control, border security, border protection •
Bylaw enforcement – Enforcement of local ordinance •
Civil defense – Disaster protection, wartime civilian protection, rescue aid •
Coast guard – Maritime law enforcement and rescue within national waters •
Conservation officer – Wildlife protection, wildlife law enforcement, hunting and fishing enforcement •
Coroner – Death confirmation, cause of death identification •
Medical examiner – Death investigation •
Emergency management – Incident management, coordination in major emergencies •
Firefighter – Rescue, fire suppression and prevention •
Humanitarian aid – Basic aid and care for people in need •
Incident response team – Specialized incident response •
Lifeguards – Medical aid and rescue at pools, beaches, shorelines, dive spots •
Military – National defense, internal security, emergency assistance (in certain situations and jurisdictions) •
National Guard – Internal security •
Mobile Crisis – Mental health crisis response including evaluations, de-escalation, and referral to other services •
Paramedics – Medical aid, assistance and rescue of injured people •
Park rangers – Law enforcement in parks and nature reserves •
Poison control center – Advice on poison exposure •
Police officer – Law enforcement, crime suppression, protection of the general public •
Police tactical unit – Hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, dangerous situation resolution, combat •
Prison officer – Law enforcement and first response within correctional facilities •
Public utilities – Safeguarding and maintaining utilities and infrastructure •
Public works – Assessing, cleaning, and repairing infrastructure •
Roadside assistance – Aiding motorists in need of assistance, conducting vehicle maintenance and repairs •
Search and rescue – Rescue of missing, trapped, or at-risk victims •
Avalanche rescue – Rescue of victims in avalanches •
Cave rescue – Rescue of victims in caves and underground areas •
Mountain rescue – Rescue of victims on mountains or in wilderness areas •
Urban search and rescue – Rescue of victims in urban areas •
Security forces – Internal security •
Security guards – Asset protection, property protection, private enforcement •
Ski patrol – Medical aid and rescue at ski resorts and mountain resorts •
Tow truck – Moving disabled, impounded, or illegally-parked vehicles •
Wildland firefighting – Wildfire suppression ==Cooperation==