Contacts
Contacts are the people and organisations outside your department that you deal with on calls and in business: property owners, key-holders, businesses, mutual-aid agencies, vendors, patients' next of kin, clients. Contacts carry addresses, phone numbers, notes (including alert notes that pop up when the contact is attached to a call), attachments, categories and — for premises — legacy pre-plan data.
Left menu → Contacts. Categories and contact note types are managed from the page and under Department → Types. Suppliers in Inventory purchasing and occupancies in Records link to contacts.
Contact List
Authorization: Contacts_View policy
Displays all contacts organized in a tree structure:
- All Contacts — Root node
- No Category — Contacts without a category
- Per-Category — Contacts grouped by category
Contact Types
The system supports two contact types:
| Type | Required Fields |
|---|---|
| Person (0) | First name, Last name |
| Company (1) | Company name |
Creating Contacts
Authorization: Contacts_Create policy
Contact Fields
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Contact Type | Yes | Person or Company |
| First/Last Name | Yes (Person) | Person's name |
| Company Name | Yes (Company) | Organization name |
| Category | No | Classification category |
| No | Contact email | |
| Phone | No | Contact phone |
Address Management
Contacts support two addresses:
| Address Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Physical Address | Primary location |
| Mailing Address | Postal address (can be same as physical) |
Both addresses include full fields (street, city, state, zip, country).
GPS Coordinates
Contacts can have three sets of coordinates:
- Location — Primary contact location
- Entrance — Entrance point
- Exit — Exit point
All coordinates are validated for proper decimal format.
Audit Trail
Creates AuditEvent on creation with IP address and user agent.
Editing Contacts
Authorization: Contacts_Create policy
Full edit with same validation as creation. Updates or creates addresses as needed.
Creates AuditEvent with before/after JSON snapshots.
Deleting Contacts
Authorization: Contacts_Create policy + CanUserDeleteContactAsync runtime check
Creates AuditEvent on deletion.
Contact Notes
Adding Notes
Notes can be added to contacts with:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Note Text | Note content |
| Alert Flag | Whether this note should be displayed as an alert |
| Note Type | Classification type (color-coded) |
| Expiration | Optional expiry date |
Alert-flagged notes are highlighted with a yellow background and appear prominently when the contact is referenced in calls.
Viewing Notes
The GetNotesJson endpoint returns notes with:
- Note text and type name
- Created-by user name
- Alert background styling
- Note type color
Contact Categories
Managing Categories
| Action | Authorization | Description |
|---|---|---|
| List Categories | Contacts_Create | View all categories |
| Add Category | Contacts_Create | Create new category |
| Edit Category | Contacts_Create | Modify category |
| Delete Category | Contacts_Delete | Remove category (blocked if contacts exist) |
A category cannot be deleted if contacts are assigned to it. Reassign or remove contacts first.
Call Integration
The GetCallsJson endpoint returns all calls linked to a contact with:
- Call name and type
- Priority name and color
- Timestamp
Setup examples
| Department type | How to set it up |
|---|---|
| Fire | Categories: Key holders, Businesses, Mutual aid, Vendors; alert notes for aggressive dogs, oxygen in use, access issues; pre-plan data moves to Records occupancies when enabled. |
| EMS | Categories: Facilities (nursing homes with charge-nurse numbers), Hospitals, Frequent patients (with ADP enrolled). |
| SAR | Categories: Agencies (sheriff, park service), Landowners, Helicopter providers, Subjects (restricted). |
| Emergency management | Categories: ESF partners, Shelter operators, Utilities, Media; distribution lists built from contacts. |
| Security | Categories: Clients, Site contacts, Alarm companies, Police liaison; per-client visibility via group scoping. |
| Delivery / transit | Customers and stops as contacts; link to route stops. |
Technical reference
ContactsController; routes /User/Contacts/{Index,Add,View,Edit,Delete,Categories,AddCategory,EditCategory,Preplan,Attachments}?contactId=; permissions ContactView, ContactEdit, ContactDelete, ViewProtectedContactData; contact details are ADP-protected fields.
Interactions with Other Modules
| Module | Interaction |
|---|---|
| Dispatch | Contacts linked to calls; alert notes displayed during dispatch |
| Types | Contact note types managed in Types controller |
| Calls | Calls reference contacts |