Your Security Systems Can Now Start an Emergency Roll Automatically via API

Less than a month ago, we shipped one of the most requested features from IT teams at schools around the world: the ability to trigger an Emergency Roll directly from an external system, with no staff member needing to open the app.

The Gap We Closed

Until now, an Emergency Roll in Orah could only be started by a staff member inside the app. That works fine for planned drills, but in a real emergency, every second counts. A fire alarm goes off. A lockdown is initiated. Your building management system knows instantly, your mass notification platform knows instantly, but Orah had to wait for a human to open the app and press a button.

Not anymore.

Connect Orah to the Systems You Already Use

With the new Emergency Roll Open API trigger, your existing security and alerting platforms can now kick off an Orah Emergency Roll the moment they detect an event.

If your system can make an authenticated API call, it can trigger Orah. That includes virtually any platform your team is already running, including:

• Mass notification platforms like Singlewire, AlertMedia, RAVE, and Alertus
• Physical security systems like Verkada, Avigilon, Genetec, and Meraki
• Fire panels and building automation systems
• Custom scripts or middleware your IT team has already built
• Any other platform with an API and a webhook-style trigger

If it has an API, it can talk to Orah.

What Happens When It Fires

The triggered roll behaves exactly the same as one started manually inside the app. SMS, email, push notifications, and banners all fire automatically. The roll appears live for staff to complete. Reporting works as normal. The only difference is the entry point: your security infrastructure, not a staff member's phone.

Simple to Set Up, Built for IT

The setup is straightforward for any IT team. You register the external system with an API key from the Orah Admin Console, assign a designated staff member the integration acts on behalf of, and configure your external system to make the authenticated call. Bearer token authentication, optional IP whitelisting, and recommended key rotation keep everything locked down to your security standards.

This release is additive, so there are no breaking changes and nothing existing integrations need to update.

What This Means for Schools

Schools that run tight, well-integrated infrastructure now have a safety layer that actually keeps pace with it. Your physical security systems and your student accountability platform are no longer two separate worlds. They work together, automatically, the moment it matters most.

This is what we mean when we say Orah is built for schools that take safety seriously. And we are just getting started.

Available now in all Orah regions: Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe/Africa/Middle East.