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Emergency Notifier

Know who dialed an emergency number, and from which location.

When someone dials an emergency number from your 3CX phone system, Emergency Notifier alerts the people you choose with the caller's name and the location you set up for them.

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  • Calls, SMS, email and desktop pop-ups
  • Location-based alert routing
  • Scheduled test alerts
What the alert says

Alerts tell your team who called, from where, and when.

When an emergency number is dialed, Emergency Notifier fills its alerts with the caller's details and the location you stored for that extension. The desktop pop-up shows them automatically, and your email and SMS templates include whichever details you choose. Here is the pop-up, and an email template.

  • Who calledThe extension, first and last name, and phone number of the person who dialed.
  • Where the call came fromThe address, building, room number, cubicle, city, state and zip you entered for that extension. Rename these fields to match how your sites are laid out.
  • When it happenedThe date and time of the call, in the desktop pop-up, in any template that uses the date variable, and in the call log.
  • What to do nextWrite your own email and SMS templates, add your procedures, and drop in the caller details with variables.

Alerts are only as precise as the location details you enter, so keep each extension's location up to date.

The desktop alert pop-up on a Windows PC running the Emergency Alerter app.

An email template. Each variable is filled in when the alert goes out, and each emergency number keeps its own email and SMS text.

How it works

Set it up once, and the right people hear every time.

Set up once

  1. Store locations

    Give each extension its address, building, room and cubicle, and map your 3CX departments to physical sites.

  2. Choose who hears

    Add contacts with a phone number, email and SMS address, and pick the locations each one is responsible for.

  3. Write the alert

    Set the email and SMS text for each emergency number, with variables for the caller's details and your own procedures.

Every time someone dials

  1. A call is made

    Someone dials an emergency number, or presses a panic button you programmed on their phone.

  2. Alerts go out

    Your contacts get a phone call, SMS, email or desktop pop-up with the caller's details and location.

  3. Everything is logged

    The call log records each event and who was contacted, with room for your own notes.

Multi-site

Built for sites with more than one building.

Locations

Every extension carries its location.

Store the address, building, room number and cubicle for each extension, or create a location once and assign it to everyone who works there. No more typing the same address for hundreds of users.

  • Rename the fields to your own terms, for example Floor to Building and Pillar to Room Number
  • Export the list to PDF, Excel, RTF or CSV
  • Add or edit several extensions before you save
Routing

Alerts go to the site that needs them.

Map each 3CX department to a physical address and its IP addresses. Contacts only hear about calls from the locations they look after, so an incident at one school does not alert staff across town. Admins can still follow every location.

  • Staff who move between buildings are matched to their current site by IP range
  • Single addresses, ranges and CIDR blocks, for IPv4 and IPv6
  • Choose which contacts get internal alerts, external alerts or both
Panic buttons

Turn a phone button into a panic button or alarm.

Program a button on a desk phone to send a panic alert to specific responders, sound a continuous alarm such as fire, tornado or evacuation over paging and phone speakers, or send a silent alert with no sound at all. Press once to start and again to stop.

  • Each speed dial can send email, SMS or both, and play an audio file you upload
  • Repeat the audio for loud buildings
  • No programmable buttons? Dial the speed dial's extension instead
Emergency types

Keep public safety, internal and test alerts apart.

External emergency numbers come from your 3CX system. Internal numbers stay out of the 3CX emergency list. Each number has its own recorded message and its own email and SMS text.

  • Upload a .WAV file for each number to play on alert calls
  • With no file chosen, the call speaks your SMS text using Windows, Amazon Polly, OpenAI or Azure OpenAI voices
Testing

Test your alerts on a schedule, quietly.

Automated tests simulate an emergency from a dedicated test extension with a physical phone, one time, daily, weekly or monthly, so you know the phone rings and alerts still reach people. Only the contacts you set up for tests are notified.

  • Run a test right away with Test Now
  • Pick the extension, phone and emergency number to test

Emergency Notifier is included in the VoIPTools Subscription.

One subscription gets you Emergency Notifier and 30+ other add-ons for 3CX.

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Where it helps

For anyone responsible for people across several buildings.

Schools and districts

When an emergency number is dialed at one school, the staff for that building get the room it came from, not every school in the district.

Campuses and multi-site companies

Map each department to its building and IP range, so the right site team is alerted, and admins can follow every location.

Plants and warehouses

A programmed button starts a tornado or evacuation alarm over paging and phone speakers, repeated for loud floors.

Staff who move around

People who work in more than one building are placed at their current site by IP range, so alerts show where they are today.

Every way to reach people

Reach responders on the phone, by text, by email and on screen.

Phone calls

Calls any number you add and plays a recorded message, or speaks the alert text.

SMS

Texts go out through Twilio, Skyetel or email to SMS.

Email

Formatted emails from your own mail server, with your template and procedures.

Desktop pop-ups

An ALERT window on Windows PCs running the Emergency Alerter app.

Everything in Emergency Notifier

  • Automatic notifications by desktop pop-up, SMS, phone call, email and paging
  • Caller identification
  • Location profiles, created once and reused
  • Location details: address, floor, zone and room
  • Location-based alert routing
  • Roaming user auto-location by IP range
  • Event logging and notes
  • Call transcription (optional)
  • Multi-site support
  • 3CX department to location mapping
  • Panic buttons
  • Audible and silent alarms
  • Speed dials with recorded messages and repeat
  • Emergency types: public safety, internal and test
  • Scheduled automated test alerts
  • Custom templates with variables and procedures
  • Role-based permissions
  • Carrier exporting
  • Custom Branding
  • Extension list export to PDF, Excel, RTF and CSV
Questions

Emergency Notifier questions, answered.

Anything else? Our team answers 24/7 from the USA, India and the Philippines.

Does Emergency Notifier contact emergency services for us?+
No. It alerts the people you choose, by phone call, SMS, email and desktop pop-up. It is not a replacement for emergency services, so keep your usual emergency procedures in place.
What does an alert include?+
The desktop pop-up shows the date and time, the caller's extension and name, and the location stored for that extension, such as address, building, room number and cubicle. Email and SMS alerts include whichever of these details you add to your templates, along with your own procedures.
Can each building get only its own alerts?+
Yes. Map each 3CX department to its location, then assign contacts to the locations they are responsible for. They are notified about calls from their locations only. Admins can follow every location.
What about staff who move between buildings?+
Map IP ranges to locations. Emergency Notifier uses the IP range to update the person's current location, so alerts point to the site they are at. Each extension belongs to one location group at a time.
Can we test it without alarming everyone?+
Yes. Schedule automated tests one time, daily, weekly or monthly, or run one right away. Tests use a dedicated test extension and notify only the contacts you set up for tests.
Do our phones need programmable buttons?+
No. Buttons make panic alerts and alarms one press away, but anyone can dial the extension for the alarm instead.
Can the phone call read out the details?+
For emergency numbers, yes. Upload a recorded .WAV message, or leave it empty and the call speaks your SMS text, which can include the caller's details.
Which 3CX editions does it work with?+
3CX version 20, Professional or Enterprise edition. It runs alongside 3CX on a separate Windows machine and connects through the VoIPTools Relay.
Details

Requirements, updates and documentation.

Downloads and documentation
  • 3CX version 20, Update 6 or later, Professional or Enterprise edition (Emergency Notifier includes a 3CX call flow app)
  • A separate Windows 10 or later, or Windows Server 2012 or later, machine running alongside 3CX
  • The Windows web server role turned on, with Basic Authentication, .NET Extensibility and ASP.NET 4.x, and Microsoft .NET Framework 4.7.2
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2016 or later (the free Express edition works)
  • VoIPTools Relay on the 3CX server, reached on port 8801
  • Static IP addresses for both servers, and port 5600 open. HTTPS with a valid domain name is recommended.
  • For desktop pop-ups: the Emergency Alerter app on each Windows PC, with .NET Framework 4.6.1 and ports 5600 and 5610 open. The Locations feature also needs this app running.
  • An email server for email alerts, and Twilio, Skyetel or email to SMS for text alerts
  • Managers sign in with their 3CX extension and voicemail PIN or web client password

Check the documentation for the current release and full setup details for your environment.

Got a question?

Talk to the team that builds Emergency Notifier.

Whether it is Emergency Notifier, another add-on, or a custom solution built around your needs, we can help you get the most out of 3CX.

Already a customer? For help with an install or an issue, email Support@VoIPTools.com.

Thank you. Your question has been sent, and our team will get back to you soon.

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