Incident Templates

Overview

Incident templates provide a standardized structure for communicating incident information throughout the Initial, Update, and Close stages. Templates can include predefined message titles, content, recipients, and delivery methods, so incident managers and operators can quickly launch or update incidents without starting from scratch.

They help standardize communication, save time during emergencies, and ensure that all critical alerts follow consistent wording and delivery settings.

Creating an Incident Template

Follow the steps to create an incident template:

1. In the header menu, click the Incidents dropdown, then select Incident Templates.

   

2. On the All Templates page, click New Incident Template.

   

3. On the New Incident Template page, under the Incident Details section, specify the following parameters:

   • Name: Specify a clear and descriptive title that reflects the purpose of the template (e.g., Severe Weather Alert – Tropical Storm Approaching).

   • Category: Choose a category to group similar templates together. See the Template Categorization topic for additional information.

   • Severity: Select a severity level that reflects the urgency and impact. The available serverity levels are:

     • Critical: Life safety or widespread system impact.

     • High: Major operational or service disruption.

     • Medium: Localized or manageable impact.

     • Low: Informational or minor event.

       

4. Configure the template for each incident phase (Initial, Update, and Close) separately. Select a phase and then configure its template.

   Note: Parameters for all three incident phases (Initial, Update, and Close) must be specified before saving the template.

   

   For each phase, you can configure incident messages just like standard messages by selecting recipients, delivery methods, sender profile, and message content.

5. From Incident Type dropdown, select a type of message you want to send (For example, message to channel, Adhoc message, Geofence message, etc.).

6. In the Recipients section, select recipient(s) for the incident phase using one of the following methods:

   • Add Groups

   • Add Individual(s)

   • Upload via CSV

   • Geofence Selection

     See the Send New Messages topic for additional information.

     

7. In the Delivery Methods section, select one or more methods for message delivery. See the Send New Messages topic for additional information.

   

8. In the Sender Profiles section, choose how the sender information will appear to recipients. See the Send New Messages topic for additional information.

   Note: Sender profiles for Incident Communication are managed separately from those in Mass Notification.

9. In the Message Contents section, define the message content for the phase. You can either select an existing message template from the templates list or manually enter the message title and body. When you select a template, any fields specific to that template are also displayed. See the Send New Messages topic for additional information about defining the message content.
   
   

   

10. Use Restrict other incident managers to edit and delete this incident template option to control who can modify or remove this incident template. By default, this option is disabled, allowing all incident managers to edit and delete any incident template. When this option is enabled, only the Incident Manager who created the template can edit or delete it. Other Incident Managers cannot modify or remove it.

11. Use Allow incident operators and managers to edit the following sections at the time of launching the incident option to control which sections of an incident template can be modified when configuring an incident. By default, this option is disabled. As a result, Incident Operators and other Managers cannot modify the template during incident configuration, and all sections are non-editable.

    When you enable this option, a drop-down list appears, allowing you to select the sections that incident operators or other incident managers can edit while configuring the incident. During incident configuration, only the selected sections are editable, while all other sections are non-editable.

    

12. Click Save.

View Incident Templates

To view incident templates available to your organization:

1. In the header menu, click the Incidents dropdown, then select Incident Templates.

   

   or

   In the header menu, Click the Incidents label to navigate to Incidents page, then click All Templates from the left navigation pane.

   

   On the All Templates page, you can view a list of templates and their corresponding information.

   • Template Name: Name of the template.

   • Created By: Name of the user who created the template.

   • Created: Date and time when template was created.

   • Last Updated By: Name of the user who last updated the template.

   • Last Updated: Most recent change or update timestamp.

   • Category: The name of the category assigned to the template.

On the All Templates page, you have the option to modify a template. Follow the steps to modify a template:

1. On the All Templates page, click ellipsis (three-dot) for a template you want to modify.

   

2. From the dropdown menu, click Edit.

3. Modify the template as required, then click Save.

On the All Templates page, you have the option to delete a template. Follow the steps to delete a template:

1. On the All Templates page, click ellipsis (three-dot) for a template you want to delete.

   

2. From the dropdown menu, click Delete.

   The selected template has been deleted.