When in Trouble Call 107

City of Cape Town provides single emergency number

The City of Cape Town supports the concept of a single national call centre number for all emergencies. Ideally, this would enable community access to an emergency centre by phoning a single three digit emergency number on any telecommunications network.

While the rest of South Africa waits for the single emergency number system to be implemented, the facility is already available in Cape Town.

Cape Town’s 107 Public Emergency Communication Centre provides a central point for Capetonians to call in an emergency. In Cape Town the multi-disciplinary message dispatching is done from a single centre with great success.

Capetonians can call the three digit number, 1-0-7, toll-free from any Telkom line. Unfortunately, however, at this time cell phone users are required to dial (021) 480 7700, for which normal cellular rates apply.

When a call is received at the 107 centre, it is immediately assessed by a professionally trained emergency communicator. For calls originating from the Telkom network, the operator will be able to see where the person is calling from, what the person’s telephone number is, and in the case of private phones, who the subscriber is. The operator will also know from which service delivery area the call originates. By asking a few pertinent, pre-determined questions, the operator will be able to determine which emergency service provider is required.

After assessing the call and determining the level of priority, the necessary emergency responders are notified. This implies that there is no delay in the notification of any of the services required at the scene of the emergency.

It is then up to the service provider to determine what type of response is needed and to dispatch the relevant resources such as personnel, vehicles and equipment to where they are needed.

The 107 centre currently deals with various emergency calls such as fire, police, medical, traffic and mountain and sea rescue. A good working relationship between the 107 centre operators and the staff at the various emergency services ensures that correct and relevant information is provided to ensure fast and efficient response to all emergency calls.

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