Computer-enabled, networked, facility emergency notification, management and alarm system

Method of rapidly initiating and propagating alerts relating to emergency events that can threaten the safety of occupants in places of public, private and governmental facilities by triggering audio and/or visual alarms comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a secure network between a central administrative office of a public, private or governmental facility and a plurality of remote, related occupant space sites associated with said facility;
• b) connecting a plurality of multi-tone audio alarms disposed associated with at least some of said occupant space sites to said network, said alarms being selected from tone alarms and voice message delivery device;
• c) connecting at least one connectivity device provided with functionality of an application server for providing an alarm data signal to said network, said application server including a rapid alert initiation, management and archiving application program as a stand-alone program or as embedded in an Operating System suite;
• d) linking at least one client connectivity device acting as a computer to said network, said client connectivity device including a CPU, a data entry device, a display device, an operating program, and a client user interface for an authorized user to access said application server via said network to interact with said rapid alert application program to trigger user-selected ones of said alarms propagated on said network in response to user command inputs to said application program via said client connectivity device, said user commands including inputs:
• for selecting sites from among a plurality of occupant space sites in said facility;
• for selecting and confirming alert alarms from a plurality of types of alerts, including:
• evacuate, shelter in place, all clear;
• and for selecting termination of an alarm from an alarm-off button;
• e) configuring said rapid alert applications program to command said server to provide authorized user-selected rapid alerts to user-selected occupants or sites of said facility of impending or in-progress dangerous or threatening events from anywhere on the network in one or more of levels of directed action to be taken by occupants;
• f) permitting viewing of the status of the alerts by responding personnel during the course of the event;
• and
• g) archiving data about the event including user-initiator of the alert, level of the alert, date and time of alert activation, and change in alert status to an all clear status at the termination of the event.

Rapid alert applications program resident as a stand-alone program or a code portion of an Operating System suite, installed in at least one connectivity device configured to function as an application server alone or as a part of a network for causing multi-tone alarms selected from tone alarms and voice message alarms connected in said network and distributed in association with occupant spaces in a public, private or governmental facility to sound alarm signals of an imminent or in-progress event that threatens the safety of occupants in said spaces upon alert by an authorized user accessing said program from any client connectivity device linked to said network comprising the functionality of:

• a) user interface accessibility;
• b) user authorization verification;
• c) hierarchical tree categories of facilities included in said network, related groups of spaces of each said facility being selectable, and selecting a broader category including all spaces included in said category;
• d) a menu permitting selection of at least one from among:
• i) alert types including at least two of:
• lockdown;
• evacuate;
• shelter in place;
• all clear;
• and for an alarm-off button;
• ii) alert natures selected from tone alarms and voice message alarms;
• and
• iii) location of where alert is to be distributed;
• e) confirmation of alert type, alert nature and location selection;
• f) entry of comments on the nature of, or additional instructions relating to response to, the emergency;
• g) access to a resources information database;
• and
• h) menu of configuration and management of the system users and data in wizard template format.