*Updated: June 2026* *Author: Carefree Support* Carefree alarms work through a multi-level escalation pipeline. When an alarm becomes active, it notifies the on-call team in sequence — starting with the Initial Call List, then escalating to Backup, and finally Administrative if the alarm remains unacknowledged. ![[alarm-lifecycle.svg]] --- ## Escalation Levels There are three levels of alarm escalation: ### 1. Initial Call List The first line of responders. As soon as an alarm becomes active (after the configured delay), **every user in the Initial list is notified via SMS and email** simultaneously. ### 2. Backup Call List If no user in the Initial list has acknowledged the alarm within **5 minutes**, the alarm escalates to the Backup list. All users in the Backup list receive SMS and email notifications. ### 3. Administrative List The Administrative list serves two purposes: 1. **Final escalation** — if neither the Initial nor Backup lists acknowledge the alarm, the Administrative list is notified as the last line of defense. 2. **Acknowledgment notifications** — when any alarm is acknowledged, the Administrative list can optionally receive a notification showing who acknowledged it and when. --- ## Alarm Delivery Modes Each individual alarm in CarefreeSCADA can be configured with one of three delivery modes: | Mode | Behavior | Priority in App | |---|---|---| | **Disabled** | Alarm will not activate. A Diagnostic indicator is shown in the alarm list to flag that the alarm is intentionally off | Diagnostic | | **No-Call** | Alarm appears in the alarm list but does **not** send SMS or email. Useful for informational events you want to see in-app but not be paged for | Low | | **Callout** | Full escalation pipeline is triggered. SMS and email sent to on-call roster | High | Operators with Operator-L1 or higher can change alarm modes. Alarm escalation and notification settings require Manager access. --- ## Alarm Properties Each alarm also has two behavior settings: ### Alarm Delay The number of seconds the alarm condition must be continuously active before the alarm is declared active in the system. This prevents transient spikes or momentary fluctuations from triggering unnecessary callouts. **Default: 10 seconds.** For alarms that tend to toggle rapidly, increasing the delay (e.g., 30–60 seconds) reduces alarm fatigue without missing real events. ### Send Acked Notification When enabled, the Administrative list receives a message when any user acknowledges the alarm — via the SMS link or the in-app acknowledgment button. This allows supervisors to track response times and who handled each alarm. --- ## On-Call Roster Setup To configure who receives alarm notifications: 1. From the left sidebar, click **Manage Account**. 2. Click **On-Call Roster**. 3. Assign users to the Initial, Backup, and Administrative lists. > Users must have an **SMS phone number** on their account to receive text notifications. Email is auto-populated from the account email address. See [[User Management]] for instructions on adding a phone number. For full On-Call Roster management, see [[On-Call Roster]]. --- ## Receiving and Acknowledging Alarms When a callout alarm fires, you will receive an SMS message and/or email with a summary of the alarm. The message includes a link or button to **acknowledge** the alarm directly from your phone — no login required. You can also acknowledge alarms from within CarefreeSCADA: 1. Navigate to **Alarms** in the left sidebar. 2. Find the active alarm in the table. 3. Click the alarm row to select it, then click **Acknowledge**. --- *For an explanation of what Active / Acknowledged / Cleared mean in the alarm list, see [[Alarm States]].* *For instructions on modifying alarm modes and limits for a specific site, see [[Site Alarm Control]].* *© 2026 Advanced Control Systems, LLC. CarefreeSCADA is a trademark of Advanced Control Systems.*