Heatwave Overwhelms Bucharest Ambulance Service: Thousands of Calls, Hundreds of People Collapsing in the Street

The extreme heatwave in Bucharest has placed enormous pressure on emergency services. The General Manager of the Bucharest-Ilfov Ambulance Service (SABIF), Alis Grasu, has announced that over the past 84 hours the service received 4,992 calls, of which 3,238 were major emergencies classified as Yellow Code and Red Code.

Of the total calls received, 431 people were in public spaces when they required medical assistance. According to SABIF management, the majority of these cases are directly linked to the high temperatures. Among the most serious situations were 36 people who experienced lipothymia (fainting episodes) and 50 people who suffered syncope, losing consciousness briefly.

Service operating at full capacity

Meteorologists have once again issued red code heatwave warnings for the coming days. SABIF management states that all possible measures have been taken and that the service is currently operating at its full response capacity. Additional efforts have been made to bring in on-call staff to cover shifts for colleagues on sick leave or annual leave.

Alis Grasu highlighted that maintaining this capacity consistently is challenging due to a legislative deadlock surrounding recruitment: many posts left vacant following retirements or departures from the service cannot be opened for competition.

How calls are managed

In order to cope with the high volume of requests, the SABIF dispatch centre applies a strict prioritisation protocol, ensuring that Red Code cases — involving immediate risk to life — are dealt with as a priority.

The service's management clarified that, whilst delays and longer waiting times may occur, no call goes unanswered, and response crews are dispatched to every person who requests medical assistance.