Fortaleza Emergency Contacts: Police, Hospitals and What to Do If Something Goes Wrong
I built this page for the moment you hope you never need it. Everything here is one thing: the actual numbers, addresses, and order of operations if something goes wrong in Fortaleza. No searching, no guessing which embassy is closest — just what to do and who to call.
The kind of address you save and hope never to use.
Emergency Numbers
190
Police
192
Ambulance (SAMU)
193
Fire Brigade
(85) 3101-2488
Tourist Police
190, 192 and 193 work free from any phone, anywhere in Brazil. The Tourist Police line is for Fortaleza specifically — Delegacia do Turista, Av. Almirante Barroso 805, Praia de Iracema.
Save these before you need them. 190, 192 and 193 work from any phone, credit or no credit, anywhere in Brazil — not just Fortaleza. The tourist police number is specific to Praia de Iracema and worth calling first if your Portuguese is shaky, since the officers there handle visitor cases regularly.
Where’s My Embassy or Consulate?
Embassy & Consulate Contacts
Ireland — Embassy, Brasilia
No Irish consulate in Fortaleza. SHIS QL 12 conjunto 05 casa 09, Lago Sul, Brasilia DF, 71630-255. Tel: +55 61 3248 8800.
Av. Agamenon Magalhaes 4775, Ilha do Leite, Recife PE, 50070-160. No public phone line — contact via the gov.uk online form.
Not Irish, American or British? Most countries’ nearest mission is in Brasilia, with a few consulates in Sao Paulo or Rio — search “[your country] embassy Brazil” to find yours.
Your embassy can’t file a police report for you and it can’t speed up an insurance claim, so it’s not your first call. What it can do is issue an emergency travel document if your passport is lost or stolen. None of these take walk-ins for anything serious, so call ahead rather than showing up.
Which Hospital Should I Go To?
Twenty four hours a day, whether you like it or not.
Nearby Hospitals
Private, paid
Hospital Monte Klinikum
Rua Republica do Libano, 747, Meireles, CE 60160-140. Tel: (85) 4012-0012. Full 24-hour emergency department, inside the neighbourhood most nomads base themselves in. Bring your insurance details or a card – this is a paid facility.
Public, free
Instituto Dr. Jose Frota (IJF)
Rua Barao do Rio Branco, 1816, Centro, CE 60025-061. Tel: (85) 3255-5000. The city’s main public trauma and emergency referral hospital – free under SUS, busier, and Portuguese-only in practice.
Monte Klinikum is the practical choice if you’re based in Meireles, Aldeota or Cocó and want a private ER — bring a card, because you pay before or right after treatment. IJF is the free public alternative if cost decides it, but go in expecting a wait and no English.
What Do I Actually Do If Something Goes Wrong?
If Something Goes Wrong
1
Get a police report first. Go to the Delegacia do Turista (or the nearest delegacia) and file a Boletim de Ocorrencia. Insurers will not process a theft or loss claim without one.
2
Contact your insurer before or during treatment where you can. SafetyWing and World Nomads both run 24/7 assistance lines through their apps — check your policy for the number and keep it saved offline.
3
Keep every receipt. Hospital, pharmacy, even the taxi to get there. Claims get paid against paper, not memory.
4
Contact your embassy or consulate after the police report, not before. They can issue an emergency travel document for a lost passport, but they cannot file a police report or speed up an insurance claim for you.
5
If your Portuguese will not stretch to a police station, ask your hotel or coworking space to call ahead, or use a translation app’s camera feature at the counter. Few officers speak English.
The order matters more than people think. Skip the police report and most insurers reject a theft or loss claim outright, whatever else you can document. Read this section before anything happens, not after — by the time you need it, you won’t want to be reading instructions.
No. Brazil splits emergency numbers by service: 190 for police, 192 for ambulance, 193 for fire. Some phones will connect 112 and route it to the same dispatch, but don’t rely on it — 190/192/193 are what actually gets used and recognised. Whichever you dial, expect Portuguese only. Operators are not routinely trained in English.
What’s Brazil’s equivalent of the FBI, and should I call them in an emergency?
That’s the Polícia Federal, and no — they’re not who you call for a street robbery or a medical emergency. Polícia Federal handles immigration, border control, passports and federal crimes. For anything urgent, it’s 190, the tourist police, or the numbers on this page. You’d only deal with the Polícia Federal for visa or CPF matters, not personal safety.
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I'm Keith — an Irish nomad based in Spain, travelling when the opportunity allows. My wife Steffany is from Fortaleza, which means my connection to Brazil goes a lot deeper than most travel writers. Latitud8 is what I wish had existed before our first trip — practical, experience-driven guides to help remote workers navigate life in Brazil and eventually Latin America without the guesswork.
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