Subject: Fire!
Dear Sir/Madam,
I’m writing to inform you of a fire which has broken out on the premises. No, that’s too formal…
Dear Sir/Madam,
Fire! Fire! Help me - 123 calendon road.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
All the best, Maurice Moss
For anyone else who was out of the loop, this is a joke from the IT Crowd when (in the show) England was changing their emergency services numbers:
From today, dialing 999 won’t get you the emergency services. And that’s not the only thing that’s changing. Nicer ambulances, faster response times and better-looking drivers mean they’re not just the emergency services — they’re your emergency services. So, remember the new number: 0118 999 881 999 119 725… 3.
Edit: Edited for clarification that this was a joke in the show and England did not change their emergency services number IRL.
We never changed emergency numbers. It might have referred to when we changed directory enquiries from a single one operated by your phone provider to multiple options with the prefix 118 xxx. Or perhaps when we extended emergency services to also have non emergency numbers for police and health issues.
Otherwise it’s been 999 for decades (with 112 also routed to the same).
The original comment did read like it was an actual thing happening in England, though
I’m going to put this meme over here with all the other meme.
BTW you know you can dial it on your phone and have an easter egg? At least on Android
Can confirm, the Easter egg appears when you enter the final “3” into the stock phone app on Android. You do not have to hit “call”.
https://www.androidauthority.com/0118-999-881-999-119-725-3-easter-egg-682519/
Wow, that phone is ancient, but the episode’s not that old…is it?
Original air date April 9, 1995
Oh.
