Emergency Communication

Giolo Fele is Professor of Sociology of Culture and Communication at the University of Trento, Italy. His research focuses on video analysis of social interaction with an ethnomethodological approach, and he studies emergency management and communication between callers and public-safety answering points, wine and coffee tasting, and TV football commentaries.

• Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: The Organization of an Emergency Call.- Chapter 3: The Search for a Place.- Chapter 4: When a Call is Not an Emergency.- Chapter 5: How to Ask for Help When There Is Little or No Information.- Chapter 6: When There Is a Language Issue.- Chapter 7: Responses and dispatch on the radio.

“This book provides a comprehensive analysis of emergency communication, grounded in conversation analysis and enriched with real-world data from emergency dispatch centers in Northern Italy. ... This book is a seminal work that advances our understanding of emergency call handling. Its thematic organization, rigorous methodology, and practical relevance ensure its place as a valuable contribution to the field. This book is particularly beneficial for those involved in emergency communication and public safety, offering both theoretical insights and practical solutions.” (Zheng Chen, Language in Society, Vol. 54 (2), 2025)