What number do I call in an emergency?

Three numbers, not one

Vietnam splits its emergency line by service: 113 reaches the police, 114 the fire brigade, and 115 an ambulance. There is no single catch-all number doing the routing for you, so the split is worth memorising before you need it.

The three are consecutive, which is the mnemonic: 3 for police, 4 for fire, 5 for medical.

Which one to pick when it is unclear

Call for the service you need first, not the incident type. A traffic accident with someone hurt is a 115 call before it is a 113 call — the ambulance is the part where minutes matter.

For anything below an emergency, your hotel's front desk is the practical first call. Staff can speak to local services in Vietnamese, know which hospital nearby handles foreigners, and can put an address into a driver's hands.

Before you need any of this

Save all three numbers and your hotel's phone number when you arrive, while nothing is wrong. A phone that can only reach a number you did not save is the version of this story everyone regrets.

Vietnam's tourism board also maintains lists of international hospitals in the major cities — worth a glance if you are travelling with a condition that might need one.

Good to know

• 113 police · 114 fire · 115 ambulance — consecutive, by service
• Below an emergency, the hotel front desk is the practical first call

Sources: Vietnam Tourism — Plan your trip · Updated Jul 2026