In Portugal, the number to remember first is 112. If there is immediate danger, serious injury, fire, a road accident, violence, a crime happening now, or someone needs urgent medical help, call 112.
Do not spend five minutes deciding if it is police, ambulance or firefighters. Call 112 and let the emergency system send the right help.
I keep this simple because in a real moment nobody thinks clearly. Even after years in Porto, I still think the most useful emergency preparation is boring: know your address, know the nearest landmark, and do not wait too long to call.
Call 112 for urgent danger
112 is the European emergency number. gov.pt lists it as Portugal’s emergency contact for medical emergencies, available 24 hours a day, every day, and calls are free.
Use 112 for things like:
- Someone unconscious or not breathing properly.
- Chest pain, suspected stroke, heavy bleeding or a serious fall.
- Road accident with injuries or danger on the road.
- Fire, smoke, gas smell, collapse risk or flooding with danger.
- Assault, burglary in progress, threats or immediate danger.
- Any situation where waiting could make things worse.
If you are not sure and it feels urgent, call. The person on the phone will ask questions.
What to say on the call
Try to speak slowly. Portuguese is useful, but in Porto many emergency operators and responders can work with simple English. The important thing is to be clear.
- Say where you are: street, door number, floor, parish if you know it, or a nearby landmark.
- Say what happened.
- Say how many people are involved.
- Say if anyone is injured, unconscious, bleeding, trapped or in danger.
- Give the phone number you are calling from.
- Stay on the line until they tell you what to do.
In Porto, addresses can be confusing if you are in an old building, a small alley, a riverside area, a car park, or somewhere outside the centre. Use a map pin if you can. Say the metro station, bridge, church, restaurant, beach access or hotel name if it helps.
SNS 24: health advice when it is not a 112 emergency
SNS 24 is the health line for advice, triage and referral. The number is 808 24 24 24.
gov.pt says SNS 24 has clinical contact 24 hours a day, every day. Administrative contact is not the same thing and has different hours.
Call SNS 24 when you are ill, need health guidance, or are not sure whether to go to a health centre, urgent care or hospital, but the situation is not immediately life-threatening.
If someone has severe breathing problems, chest pain, a possible stroke, heavy bleeding, major burns, a serious accident, loss of consciousness, or another obvious emergency, skip SNS 24 and call 112.
Bombeiros, INEM, PSP and GNR
You will hear these names in Portugal:
- INEM deals with medical emergency response.
- Bombeiros are firefighters and can also be part of ambulance, rescue and civil-protection response.
- PSP is the police force you are most likely to deal with in Porto city and other urban areas.
- GNR covers many areas outside the main urban PSP areas, and also has road, territorial and other responsibilities.
In an emergency you do not need to choose between them. Call 112.
Police matters that are not immediate emergencies
If something already happened and there is no immediate danger, you may need to contact PSP, GNR, or go to a police station to make a report.
For example: a stolen bag discovered later, lost documents, an old complaint, noise issues, or a non-urgent report. If there is danger now, it becomes 112 again.
For Porto city, start with PSP. If you are in smaller towns, rural areas, road situations or outside the urban centre, GNR may be the relevant force. When in doubt, 112 can still route urgent cases.
Municipal Police in Porto
Porto also has Policia Municipal. They are visible in the city and deal with municipal rules, traffic, local enforcement and support around city events.
They are useful to know about, but they are not the number I would try to remember during a serious emergency. For danger, call 112.
For visitors
If you are visiting Porto, save the exact address of your hotel or apartment. Do not rely on the booking-app name only. Many streets have similar names, and drivers or responders may need a door number.
Keep a photo of your passport or ID somewhere safe, and save a contact for your accommodation. If you are travelling with someone, share your live location when something feels off.
For residents
If you live here, do the boring setup once:
- Save 112 and SNS 24 in your phone.
- Know your full address in Portuguese format.
- Know the closest hospital emergency department and health centre.
- Keep your user number, insurance details and medication list easy to find.
- Teach children your address and 112.
- Keep building access details clear if you live in an apartment.
This is especially useful in older Porto buildings, where the entrance, floor or apartment numbering can be less obvious than you expect.
Fires, storms and civil protection
For fire, smoke, gas smell, collapse risk or dangerous flooding, leave first if it is safe, warn nearby people if you can do it without putting yourself in danger, and call 112.
For wider alerts, bad weather, heat, fire risk and civil-protection updates, use official public information from Civil Protection and the municipality. During serious weather, I also check official channels before planning long drives outside Porto.
My simple rule
If there is danger now, call 112. If it is health-related and not immediately life-threatening, call SNS 24 on 808 24 24 24. If it is a police report without immediate danger, use PSP or GNR through the proper non-urgent route.
Porto is generally a safe place to live, but that does not mean you should improvise in a bad moment. Save the numbers, know where you are, and make the call early.
Official pages worth keeping: gov.pt emergency contacts in Portugal, 112 Portugal, SNS 24, PSP, GNR, and Civil Protection Portugal.
