Cisco Emergency Responder

Cisco Emergency Responder Overview

CiscoEmergencyResponder is an emergency communication system that helps you respond to a crisis quickly and efficiently.

Emergency Responder also maintains a record of the emergency calls that your system receives so that you can access this information later.

The following is a brief overview of what happens when someone places an emergency call:

  • Someone places an emergency call.

  • Emergency Responder receives the call and forwards it to the public safety answering point (PSAP) for your area.

  • At the same time, Emergency Responder provides information about the emergency call in the Emergency Call Alert window. This information includes the time and date of the emergency call, the extension of the caller, the caller's alerting name, the ERL name, and the phone location. Additional details about the caller location, such as the complete physical address for the ERL and the port description, are displayed after you click on a call record. Depending on how your Administrator sets up your system your Emergency Call Alert Window may show alerts specific from the ERLs assigned to you. You will still have the option to view all alerts in the system.


    Note

    Emergency Responder displays the port description only for automatically tracked phones. For manually configured line numbers , this field is empty.

  • Depending on how your administrator sets up your system, you may receive a voice alert that provides you with the caller's extension. You might also receive an email with the caller name, the Emergency Response Location (ERL) name, and the time of the emergency call.

  • After you determine the location of the caller, you can respond to the call according to your company emergency response policy.

  • As soon as the caller places the emergency call, Emergency Responder refreshes the Emergency Call Alert window. If Emergency Responder cannot perform the real-time update, the Emergency Call Alert window refreshes in 30 seconds.


    Note

    Emergency Responder provides you with only the extension of the caller; you cannot listen to the actual emergency call.

Access User Web Interface

You must log in to Emergency Responder to view web alerts and obtain more information about an emergency call.

To log in to the Emergency Responder User web interface, follow these steps.

Procedure

Step 1

In your browser location field, enter the URL provided by your administrator.

The main Emergency Responder User web interface appears.
Step 2

Choose CiscoER User from the Navigation drop-down menu and click Go.

The CiscoEmergencyResponder User Login window appears.

Step 3

Enter your username and password. Click Login. If you cannot log in, contact your system administrator.

The Emergency Call Alert window appears.

Note 

If you are a remote user authenticated in Cisco Unified Communications Manager, a notification message to change the password is displayed when the expiry is due.

To exit the Emergency Responder User web interface from any window, choose the Logout link at the top of the window.

Tip 

For help with using a feature on any Emergency Responder User window, choose Help > Help for this Screen.

Acknowledge Emergency Calls

After you are notified of an emergency call, the next step is to acknowledge it. To acknowledge an emergency call means that:

  • You take responsibility to act according to your company emergency response policy on behalf of that call.
  • You understand that your policy might require you to go to the physical location of the caller, or it might require that you monitor the emergency situation by telephone.
  • You understand that when you acknowledge a call, Emergency Responder keeps it in the system for 24 hours. After 24 hours, Emergency Responder removes that call from the Emergency Call Alert window list and that the entry disappears from your Emergency Call Alert window and the Emergency Call Alert window of all on-site-alert personnel in your system.

    Note

    A red link indicates unacknowledged calls. A black link indicates acknowledged calls.

    All security personnel who have access to the Emergency Responder User web interface can see the emergency calls on the Emergency Call Alert window.

If a call record is removed from the list in the Emergency Call Alert window, Emergency Responder still saves the call information. After an emergency call has been acknowledged, you can see the call information by viewing the Call History. For information about how to view the Call History, see View History of Emergency Calls.

You can also see detailed information about that caller location by looking up the phone extension. For information about viewing details about a caller location, see Emergency Call Information.

Before you begin

This procedure assumes that you are logged in to Emergency Responder and that the Emergency Call Alert window is displayed.

For instructions on logging in to Emergency Responder, see the Access User Web Interface.

To display the Emergency Call Alert window from any page on the Emergency Responder User website, choose Web Alert.

To acknowledge an emergency call and remove the emergency call from the list, follow these steps:

Procedure

Step 1

In the Emergency Call Alert window, click ACKNOWLEDGE for the emergency call you want to acknowledge.

A message appears and prompts you to confirm your acknowledgment.
Step 2

Click OK.

Emergency Responder refreshes the Emergency Call Alert window and the Emergency Call Alert window of all on-site-alert personnel in your system, removing the call you just acknowledged.

View Emergency Calls

To view all emergency calls, click Find without entering any criteria.

To narrow your search, follow these steps.

Procedure

Step 1

Select the field you want to search, select the search relationship, and enter the search string.

To search a combination of fields, follow these steps:

  • Click More to add additional search fields.
  • Select Any at the top of the list to display calls that match any search criteria (an OR search).
  • Select All to list only calls that match every criteria (an AND search).
  • Click Fewer to remove the search criterion at the bottom of the list. You can view this button only after you click More.
Step 2

From the drop-down list, choose the number of records per page to be displayed for each search.

Step 3

After you enter the search criteria, click Find.

Emergency Call Information

To respond to an emergency call, you might need more information than is displayed on the Emergency Call Alert window, or you might need to provide these details to law enforcement or other emergency personnel.

You can click on a call record in the Emergency Call Alert window to view details about a call.

The system administrator sets the displayed fields, such as the street address and the three-digit area code. The PSAP operator also sees these displayed fields.

These details might not describe the exact physical location of the caller, but they should describe the origin of the emergency call. If you find that these details are not helpful in locating the emergency caller, contact your system administrator.

For additional information, see View History of Emergency Calls.

The following table describes the fields you see after you click on a call record from the Emergency Call Alert window.

Table 1. Emergency Response Location Fields

Field Name

Description

ERL Name

Zone name for the call location set by your system administrator.

House Number

Number from the postal street address for the building.

For example, the 170 in 170 West Tasman Drive.

House Number Suffix

Number extension for the house number, if any.

For example /2.

Street Name

Street name from the postal address for the building.

Street Suffix

Type of street.

For example AV for Avenue.

Prefix Directional

Leading directional indicator if the street name contains one.

For example N for North.

Post Directional

Trailing directional indicator if the street name contains one.

For example N for North.

Community Name

Community name for the address.

For example a city, town, or district name.

State

Two-digit state abbreviation.

Main NPA

Three-digit area code of the main number associated with the calling number.

Customer Name

Subscriber name associated with the ERL.

This is typically your company name.

Class of Service

Class of service for the ERL.

Type of Service

Type of service for the ERL.

Exchange

Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) exchange identifier for the serving telephone office for the phone.

Main Telephone No.

Main phone number associated with the ERL, such as the number of the security office for the ERL.

Order Number

Service order number for establishing or updating this record.

Extract Date

Date this record is created.

County ID

County identification code for the zone.

In the United States, use the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code assigned to the county by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Company ID

Your National Emergency Number Association (NENA)-registered company identification code.

Zip Code

Postal zip code for the address.

Zip Code Extension

Postal zip code plus four numbers.

Customer Code

Your customer code.

If you do not know your customer code, contact your service provider.

Comments

Optional comments, which might be displayed at the PSAP if an emergency call is placed from this ERL.

Longitude

Longitude of the ERL.

Latitude

Latitude of the ERL.

Elevation

Elevation of the ERL.

TAR Code

Taxing area rate code.

Location

Additional location information, in free form, to help identify the exact location of the phone.

For example, this information might repeat the street address that is defined in several separate fields elsewhere in the Emergency Call Alert window.

View Emergency Call Alert

The Emergency Call Alert page displays a list of emergency calls, with the following fields for each call:

  • System Call Time

  • Local Call Time

  • Line ID

  • Caller’s Name

  • ERL

  • ELIN Used

  • Location

  • Street

  • Phone Location


Note

You need user or system administrator authority to access the Emergency Call Alert window. Java Runtime Environment (JRE) must be installed on your machine to monitor web alerts.

Use the following procedure to view the Emergency Call Alert window.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Cisco Emergency Responder User window, click Web Alert.

The Emergency Call Alert window appears.
Step 2

You may see specific alerts from ERLs assigned to you, depending on how your administrator has set up the system. Click All to view all the alerts in the system.

Step 3

To view the Call Details window, click on a call record.

The Call Details window appears. For additional information about the displayed fields, see Emergency Call Information.

Use Phone Search

If you need to see location details about a call that is no longer visible in the Emergency Call Alert window, use the phone search to look up the extension. If you do not know the caller extension number, you can find it in the Call History window. For information about how to view a call history, see View History of Emergency Calls.


Note

You can perform both partial string searches and E.164 Dial Plans searches with Phone Search. If you are searching E.164 Dial Plans then a plus sign (+) should come before the number.


Tip
  • If an emergency call is placed immediately after the Emergency Responder server is started, the caller location details might not be available right away. Results of a phone search using this caller extension say No matching phone for the given extension.

  • A caller might place an emergency call from one Emergency Response Location (ERL) and then immediately move to a different ERL. If Emergency Responder registers this move before you use the Phone Search feature, the phone search window displays the location details of the second ERL.

  • If you try to view location details for a phone that shares an extension, the phone search window displays details for all phones for that extension. To refine your search, click Select a phone to view details. Choose the phone whose details you want to view based on the Last Time of Emergency Call field.

Use the following procedure to perform a phone search.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Phone Search from the main menu.

The Locate Phone by Extension window appears.
Step 2

In the Phone Extension field, enter the extension of the caller about whom you want more information and click Find.

For additional information, see Emergency call information.

To return to the Emergency Call Alert window, choose Web Alert from the main menu.

Detailed information about the caller appears at the bottom of the window.

Locate Phone by Extension

Use the Locate Phone by Extension page to search the Call History for a phone by an extension number. If a phone is located, the results show the Call Details.


Note

You need user or system administrator authority to perform a Phone Search.

Perform the following steps to search for a phone by an extension number.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Emergency Call Alert window, click Phone Search.

The Locate Phone By Extension window appears.

The following table describes the Locate Phone by Extension page.

Table 2. Locate Phone by Extension Page

Field and Button

Description

Phone Extension

Text box into which you enter the extension of the phone that you want to locate.

You can perform a partial string search of the extension.

Find button

Starts the phone search.

Step 2

Enter a phone extension in the Phone Extension field.

Step 3

Click Find

The search results are displayed.

View History of Emergency Calls

Emergency Responder maintains history records for 10,000 most recent emergency calls.

You can use this information to track specific details about emergency calls, such as how many emergency calls were placed on a date, from a caller, or that contain a specific keyword. This information can also be used for reporting purposes or to set staffing levels. For example, you could use this information to determine the number of on-site-alert personnel needed for a time period.

You can also use this feature to provide recent call-history information to law enforcement agencies or to other emergency personnel.

If needed, you can enter or view additional information about an emergency call in the Comments field.


Tip

If you need to obtain call details for earlier emergency calls, ask your system administrator to provide this information. Your system administrator may have saved these records.

To view Call History, follow these steps:

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Call History from the main menu.

The Call History window appears.
Step 2

Use the drop-down lists and text field to enter specific call-search conditions. Click More to add conditions, or click Fewer to remove the last condition that you added.

Note 

If you specify more than one call-search condition, you must indicate if you want all or any of the conditions satisfied. For example, if you want to view all medical emergency calls that came from your company office in San Jose on July 6, your conditions might look like this:

Find Details of calls where all of the conditions are satisfied and where Date is 07/06/2013 and where ERL Name is Exactly SanJoseBuilding and Comments contains medical.

Step 3

Click Find.

Information appears about those calls that meet the specified search conditions.

If the information does not fit in one window, Emergency Responder uses more than one window to list the calls.

To see more information, click the links or enter a specific page number in the Page field and click the Page link.

Step 4

To enter or modify comments about an emergency call, click the Edit Link in the Comments field for that call record.

The Call Details window appears.

Comments appear in the Comments About the Call field of the Call Details window:

  • If the comment is longer than the field, use the right and left arrow keys on your computer keyboard to scroll through the comment.
  • To add or modify a comment, enter the information and click Update.
  • To return a comment to its last saved value, click Reset.
Step 5

Click Close to close the Call Details window.

Call History Fields

The Call History page appears when you select Call History.

Authorization Requirements

You need user or system administrator authority to access this page.

Description

Use the Call History page to view the history of emergency calls that were made from your network.

The following table describes the Call History page.

Table 3. Call History Page

Button or Field

Description

Search criteria

Allows you to enter search criteria to select the emergency calls you want to view.

Call records

Provides a list of emergency calls that match your search criteria:

  • ERL Name - Click the name to view details about the emergency response location (ERL).
  • Caller’s Extension - The extension used to place the emergency call.

  • Caller’s name - The alerting name of the caller.

  • Time - The time the call is made.
  • Date - The date the call is made.
  • ELIN Used - The route pattern and Emergency Location Identification Number (ELIN) combination used for the call.
  • Location - The phone location, based on whether the phone is configured manually, or if it's configured automatically based on the switch port or IP subnet.
  • Call Acknowledged - The acknowledged status of a call on the Web Alert page.
  • Acknowledged By - The ID of the user who acknowledged the call.
  • Time Acknowledged - The time that the call is acknowledged.
  • Date Acknowledged - The date that the call is acknowledged.
  • Comments - All comments entered about the call. Click Edit to enter or change comments about the call in the Call Details page. If a large number of calls match your search criteria, Emergency Responder uses several pages to display them:

    • Click the First, Previous, Next, and Last links to move between pages

    • Enter a specific page number in the Page field and press Enter to move to that page

Update

Click Update to include your comments in the call history for the call.

Note 

You can only perform this action from the Call Details page.

Reset

Click Reset to remove unsaved comments. You can then reenter comments.

Note 

You can only perform this action from the Call Details page.

Close

Click Close to close the Call Details page.

Note 

You can only perform this action from the Call Details page.

The following table describes the fields you see when you view a history of emergency calls.

Table 4. Call History Fields

Field name

Description

ERL Name

Zone name that your system administrator set for that call location.

Caller’s Extension

Extension from which the emergency call is placed.

Caller’s Name

Alerting name set on Unified Communications Manager for the caller.

Time

Time that the emergency call is placed.

Date

Date that the emergency call is placed.

ELIN Used

Call-back number your PSAP operator uses to contact an emergency caller if the emergency call gets disconnected.

Location

The phone location, based on whether the phone is configured manually, or if it's configured automatically based on the switch port or IP subnet.

Call Acknowledged

The acknowledged status of a call on the Web Alert window.

Acknowledged By

The ID of the user who acknowledged the call.

Time Acknowledged

The time that the call is acknowledged.

Date Acknowledged

The date that the call is acknowledged.

Comments

This field that contains an Edit Link that allows you to enter comments about the call. See View History of Emergency Calls for details about entering comments.