Hätäkutsu

Hätäkutsu is a Finnish term referring to the dispatch of emergency services to an incident following a report of danger or need for urgent assistance. The word is formed from hätä “emergency” and kutsu “call” or “summons.” In everyday language it denotes the moment when authorities are alerted and a response is initiated, typically after an individual dials the emergency number 112 or when a dispatcher directs resources to a scene. In professional rescue and law enforcement contexts hätäkutsu describes the official request or order to mobilize units such as police, fire and rescue, and ambulance services. Depending on the severity and nature of the event, the dispatch may involve different units and priority levels.

The dispatch process generally starts with a 112 call or a report from another source, followed by incident assessment, resource allocation, and deployment. A hätäkutsu is distinct from a routine service call in that it requires immediate action and monitoring of the incident, with units giving updates on arrival and status. In Finnish emergency services, terms like hälytys and lähtö are used to describe alarm and departure statuses, but hätäkutsu specifically refers to the act of summoning responders to a scene.

Translations vary, but commonly it can be rendered as “emergency call-out” or “emergency dispatch” in English-language materials. The term underscores the urgency and formalisation of mobilising responders to protect life and property.