> if you can't speak English but know enough to dial 999, there will > be no one on the other end who can speak anything but English. We had an inverse event in Ontario last summer. A grandmother who could not speak English did not call 911 (equiv. to 999) when a small child fell into a swimming pool. The child drowned. The grandmother did not call because she thought the 911 operators would not understand her. But apparently interpreters are available for the 911 service. Don't know how timely the response is though.