Callout is the platform's outbound voice, SMS, and email machinery. It mobilizes your team when a session starts and directs residents when a hazard area is drawn. This article explains the concept once, so the product articles can stay task-focused. Read it if you initiate sessions or manage callout messages.
All callout calls and texts come from H2Safety's four outbound numbers. Get everyone to save them as contacts before the first real event.
Team callout: sessions
When you initiate a session in the Virtual Emergency Operations Centre (VEOC) and invite users, every invitee instantly gets a phone call, a text message, and an email with a link to join. The invite carries a short, high-level call message reflecting the session type and the facts they need. The same message posts to the session Forum.
The defaults behind this live in VEOC's Callout Settings: custom messages on or off, the callout messages themselves, call responses on or off, and the default response options. H2Safety sets these up with your company during onboarding. Administrators can view them; edits are made by the H2Safety team. Message Settings controls the message defaults, and Administrative Settings sets default documents that attach to every new session. See Set default session documents.
Resident callout: COP+
In the Common Operating Picture (COP+), callout reaches the public. Draw a hazard area and the residences inside it appear in the Callout Area Users window (the phone receiver icon). From there you can:
Set Messages for selected residences or all of them. Two response options exist: Shelter In Place and Evacuate to the Emergency Centre, with a predefined or custom message.
Set Calls to start the calls, plus refresh, export to Excel or PDF, and column controls.
If the Start Calls button is greyed out, telephone functionality is not available in that session.
Where the product articles pick up
Wildfire zones fire their own callouts when fire meets a notification zone; see Assign a zone contact list and message.
Contact lists that feed callout live in Contact Manager; see Create a contact list.
What invitees experience on their end: Join a session from an invite.
Scheduled and ad hoc mass notification outside sessions is Notify's job; see Send a notification.