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Emergency Services in Cape Town

The general public emergency line from any phone in Cape Town is 107. You can call this number for the fire brigade, the police or emergency medical services.

The South African Police Service (SAPS)

Flying Squad: 10111

While the SAPS has amped up their patrols in City Bowl, tales still abound of their incompetence. Indeed, the problems are so great that a MEC in Gauteng, Johannesburg was recently compelled to brag when his district managed to get their average response time for the 10111 number down to 30 minutes.

The problem, allegedly, lies more with emergency call center personnel than with the police officers. Affirmative action has allowed people with a very poor grasp of English and inadequate computer skills to take up crucial roles in the chain of information capture. The consequence is that the police literally have a difficult time of knowing where they need to go in an emergency.

Security Services

Instead of relying on public services, it is recommended that you sign up with a good private security company. ADT (the biggest security company in the world at last check) is well-established in Cape Town and provides alarm installations and 24-hour monitoring along with foot and car patrols. Chubb security offers a similar service. Both operate out of City Bowl and charge around R300 a month.

A few other security companies operating in Cape Town:

  • District Watch: 021 559 3024
  • Halt Security: 021 975 1503
  • Roman: 021 982 0563
  • Star Alarms: 021 557 1455

Fire Services

Fire Department: 021 535 1100

While the fire department’s not considered to be too bad in terms of its response times, again, if your house is on fire, you’ll stand a much better chance of saving it if you’re signed up with a private fire protection company. Chubb provides fire detection equipment installations and round-the-clock monitoring.

Chubb Fire: Call 021 5114 194/5 for a free quote.

Emergency Medical Services

For public ambulance services, call 10177.

Again, private ambulance services offer far superior response times than the public services. You’ll be covered for their services as long as you’re signed on to a locally valid medical aid scheme, so all you need to do is save their numbers to your phone. The two big private services are ER24 (Medi-Clinic’s service) and Netcare, which belongs to the Netcare hospital group.

  • ER24: 084 124
  • Netcare: 082 911

Other Emergency Numbers

Here are a few more contacts you might need in an emergency.

  • The Poison Information Centre (open 24/7): 021 689 5227
  • Sea Rescue: 021 449 3500
  • Mountain Rescue Service: 021 984 9900
  • Table Mountain National Park Rangers: 0861 106 417

Top Tips

01 It is critical to ensure you have the correct visa before you arrive as you will need to return home to make changes if you have the wrong visa.
02 Safety should be a top priority. Sign up with a good security company and ensure your home is fitted with the latest security equipment.
03 Wear sunglasses and sunscreen throughout the year. The UV rays in South Africa are extremely strong.
04 Be adventurous, not stupid. Whenever you go on a new hike or nature walk, do it with a local who knows the route and the time it takes to get back.
05 Follow the networking process. Join a few expatriate clubs. It’s a lot easier to travel the grapevine between social scenes than to jump into on

Useful links

Interesting fact

The median age in the city of Cape Town is 26 years old, with almost half the population less than 24 years old.
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