Emergencies and safety in Spain — who to call

112 — the single emergency number

Call 112 (free from any phone, including mobiles with no SIM and no credit) for fire, medical emergencies, severe accidents, or any situation where life is at risk. The 112 line is run by the autonomous communities and routes you to the appropriate service — emergency medical (SUMMA, SAMUR depending on region), fire (Bomberos), or police.

Operators speak Spanish; many regions also offer English, French, German, and other languages. Some regions (Catalonia, Basque Country, Galicia, Valencia, Balearic and Canary Islands) operate in their co-official languages alongside Spanish. Speak slowly: name, location (street + number + city + autonomous community), and what is happening.

Spain's overlapping police forces

Spain has multiple police forces, all reachable via 112 in an emergency: Policía Nacional (091) handles serious crime in cities and is the federal civil police; Guardia Civil (062) covers rural areas, highways, and some specialised tasks; Policía Local / Municipal (092 in most cities) handles traffic, local ordinances, and minor crime; and the autonomous communities (Catalonia's Mossos d'Esquadra, Basque Country's Ertzaintza, Navarre's Policía Foral, Canary Islands' Cuerpo General) replace the Policía Nacional in their territories.

For after-the-fact crime reports, file a denuncia at any police station or via the Policía Nacional online portal (policia.es) for many crime types. The denuncia number is required for insurance claims.

Non-urgent medical advice

For non-life-threatening medical situations, the public health system runs region-specific advice lines. In Madrid, dial 061 for medical emergencies and 900 102 112 for non-urgent advice. In Catalonia, call 061 (CatSalut Respon) for non-urgent advice 24/7. Other autonomous communities have their own lines listed on their public-health portals.

Pharmacists (farmacéuticos) are also a strong first-point of advice for minor illness — Spanish pharmacies maintain longer counselling traditions than most countries and can recommend OTC remedies, refer urgent issues, and assist with chronic-medication management.

Urgencias (hospital ER) and CAPs / centros de salud

Hospital Urgencias departments are for genuine medical emergencies. Wait times for non-urgent cases are often 4–8 hours; the system genuinely prefers you go through your CAP (Centro de Atención Primaria — primary health centre) or 061 first when the situation is not life-threatening.

CAPs are the front door to public healthcare. They handle same-day urgent cases (sin cita) for non-life-threatening situations during opening hours, plus scheduled appointments via the regional health system. Outside CAP hours, hospital Urgencias and 061 cover non-urgent care.

Reporting scams and cybercrime

Common Spanish fraud vectors: SMS phishing impersonating banks (smishing), false fines from Hacienda or Tráfico via email or SMS, fake apartment-rental scams on Idealista, and Bizum-request scams. Real banks, the police, and government agencies never ask for passwords, PINs, or transfer codes by phone.

For cybercrime, file a denuncia at any police station or via policia.es online. The Guardia Civil's Grupo de Delitos Telemáticos and the Policía Nacional's Brigada de Investigación Tecnológica handle cybercrime investigations. Reporting fast often allows banks to recover funds.

Home break-in: what to do in the first hour

• Do not enter the property if anyone might still be inside. Call 091 (Policía Nacional) or 062 (Guardia Civil in rural areas) from outside.
• Once safe, photograph everything before moving anything — both insurance and police want the original scene.
• List what is missing, including serial numbers for electronics. Receipts speed up insurance claims.
• File a denuncia at any police station or via policia.es online. You will receive a denuncia number — keep it for insurance.
• Contact your seguro de hogar (home contents insurance) within 24 hours; most policies have a notification deadline.
• If keys were taken, change the locks. Most landlords or property managers handle lock changes within 24 hours.

Power, gas, and water emergencies

Power cut: contact your local distribution operator — Iberdrola, Endesa, Naturgy, EDP — number on your last electricity bill. Most have 24-hour outage lines and online status maps.

Gas leak (smell of gas): leave the property immediately, do not switch anything electrical on or off, and call your gas-utility emergency line from outside (typically printed on the meter or on the Naturgy / Repsol / Endesa bill). Many regions also publish a 900-emergency-gas number.

Water emergency: contact your local water company (Canal de Isabel II in Madrid, Aigües de Barcelona in Barcelona, Aguas de Valencia, etc.). Most have 24-hour emergency lines for major leaks.

Wildfires, floods, and the AEMET alert system

Spain faces several recurring natural-emergency surfaces: wildfires (incendios forestales) in summer, especially in Galicia, Valencia, and the south; flash floods (DANA / gota fría) in autumn, especially in the Valencia region and the southeast; storms and snow in the interior in winter. AEMET, the Spanish meteorological agency, issues colour-coded alerts (yellow, orange, red) for severe weather.

Wireless Emergency Alerts (now in pilot in Spain via the Sistema Nacional de Alerta Pública) auto-broadcast urgent warnings to phones in affected areas. Protección Civil coordinates major-emergency response; emergency shelters and evacuation routes are managed by local authorities. The 112 line is the unified emergency entry point.