Emergency messaging system and method of responding to an emergency

An emergency messaging system configured to be used with two or more mobile electrical devices, the emergency messaging system comprising:

• a device communications module configured to run on at least one first processor and further configured to communicate with the two or more mobile electrical devices, the device communications module further configured to receive a first trigger message from a user of a first one of the two or more mobile electrical devices, the first trigger message comprises a first trigger word and a first location of the first one of the two or more mobile electrical devices;
• an emergency response module configured to run on the at least one first processor to process the first trigger word in the first trigger message to determine a first emergency situation having an emergency level;
• a determination module configured to:
• run on the at least one first processor,
• determine an appropriate emergency group from a set of emergency groups, wherein the set of emergency groups is comprised of a police department, a fire department, and an emergency medical service, wherein each one of the emergency groups comprises a plurality of emergency response units, and wherein the at least one first processor selects the appropriate emergency group from the set of emergency groups according to the first trigger word in the first trigger message, and
• determine a first appropriate emergency response unit in the appropriate emergency group based on the first emergency situation and the first location of the first one of the two or more mobile electrical devices;
• and
• a notification module configured to run on the at least one first processor and further configured to receive information regarding the first appropriate emergency response unit and notify the first appropriate emergency response unit of the first location associated and the first emergency situation corresponding to the first trigger message;
• wherein a mass event trigger limit is set in the emergency response module, wherein the mass event trigger limit is comprised of a defined number of trigger messages received with a defined set of trigger words in a defined period of time from a set of locations within a defined distance from each other;
• wherein the determination module analyzes in the at least one first processor a plurality of trigger messages relative to each other to confirm that the mass event trigger limit has been reached;
• wherein the emergency response module initiates a mass event warning when the mass event trigger limit has been reached;
• wherein the emergency response module receives the set of locations and a corresponding set of trigger messages for a plurality of users with a plurality of mobile electrical devices;
• wherein the determination module analyzes the trigger messages in the at least one first processor for a set of trigger words corresponding to a set of emergency situations, wherein the set of emergency situations includes the first emergency situation and at least a second emergency situation;
• wherein the determination module determines a relationship between a subset of the set of emergency situations in the at least one first processor, wherein the relationship between the subset of emergency situations is comprised of a correlation between the trigger words for a subset of the set of trigger messages received within a predetermined time period from a subset of the set of locations within a predetermined distance from the first location;
• wherein the determination module elevates an emergency level from a first level to a second level when the relationship between the subset of the set of emergency situations is determined to exist;
• wherein the determination module determines in the at least one first processor a second appropriate response unit from the plurality of emergency response units in the appropriate emergency group selected by the at least one first processor when the emergency level is elevated from the first level to the second level;
• and
• wherein the notification module transmits the first location corresponding with the first mobile electrical device and the first emergency situation associated with the first trigger message to the second appropriate response unit.

A method of responding to an emergency using an emergency response computer system, the emergency response computer system comprising at least one processing unit and an emergency response module, the method comprising:

• setting a mass event trigger limit in the emergency response module, wherein the mass event trigger limit is comprised of a defined number of trigger messages received with a defined set of trigger words in a defined period of time from a set of locations within a defined distance from each other;
• receiving in the emergency response module the set of locations and a corresponding set of emergency trigger messages from a plurality of users with a plurality of remote computing devices, the emergency response module running on the at least one processing unit;
• using the emergency response module to process the one or more emergency trigger messages to determine an emergency level, wherein using the emergency response module to process the one or more emergency trigger messages comprises:
• determining the set of locations of at least a portion of the one or more remote computing devices, wherein the set of locations is comprised of at least a first location and a second location, wherein the first location corresponds to a first remote computing device and a first emergency trigger message, and wherein the second location corresponds to a second remote computing device and a second emergency trigger message;
• analyzing the one or more emergency trigger messages to determine a content of the one or more emergency trigger messages, wherein the content is evaluated for a set of trigger words corresponding to a set of emergency situations, wherein the set of emergency situations includes a first emergency situation and at least a second emergency situation;
• analyzing the emergency trigger messages relative to each other to confirm that the mass event trigger limit has been reached;
• initiating a mass event warning when the mass event trigger limit has been reached;
• determining a relationship between a subset of the set of emergency situations, wherein the relationship between the subset of emergency situations is comprised of a correlation between the trigger words for a subset of the set of trigger messages received within a predetermined time period from a subset of the set of locations within a predetermined distance from the first location;
• determining a level of response to the one or more emergency trigger messages based upon locations of the at least the portion of the one or more remote computing devices and the content of the one or more emergency trigger messages, the levels of response comprise a first level response and a second level response;
• elevating an emergency level from the first level to the second level when the relationship between the subset of the set of emergency situations is determined to exist;
• using the locations of the at least the portion of the one or more remote computing devices to determine a first response unit to notify;
• using the locations of the at least the portion of the one or more remote computing devices to determine a second response unit to notify when the level of response is the second level of response;
• using the emergency response module to notify the first response unit of the locations of the at least the portion of the one or more remote computing devices when the level of response is the first level of response or the second level of response while providing an emergency system operator with the first response unit, the locations of the at least the portion of the one or more remote computing devices, and the level of response, wherein the first location corresponding with the first remote computing device and the first emergency situation associated with the first trigger message is transmitted to the first response unit for the first level response;
• using the emergency response module to simultaneously notify the first response unit and the second response unit of the locations of the at least the portion of the one or more remote computing devices when the level of response is the second level of response, wherein the first location corresponding with the first remote computing device and the first emergency situation associated with the first trigger message is transmitted to at least the first response unit according to the second level of response, and wherein the second location corresponding with the second remote computing device and the second emergency situation associated with the second trigger message is transmitted to the first response unit and to the second response unit according to the second level of response;
• receiving in the emergency response module instructions from the second response unit to notify a target group when the level of response is the second level of response;
• and
• using the emergency response module to send a first emergency alert message to the target group when the level of response is the second level of response.

A method of responding to an emergency using a plurality of mobile electrical devices in operative communication with an emergency response computer system, each one of the mobile electrical devices comprising a processor and an emergency module, and the emergency response computer system comprising a processing unit, the method comprising:

• setting a mass event trigger limit, wherein the mass event trigger limit is comprised of a defined number of emergency trigger messages received with a defined set of trigger words in a predefined time period from a set of locations within a defined distance from each other;
• receiving in the emergency response computer system a set of response unit locations corresponding with a set of emergency response units and a set of emergency trigger messages from a plurality of users with a plurality of mobile electrical devices, wherein the set of emergency trigger messages is comprised of a first emergency trigger message from a first user of a first mobile electrical device, wherein the first emergency trigger message comprises a first trigger word, wherein the set of emergency trigger messages is further comprised of a second emergency trigger message from a second user of a second mobile electrical device, and wherein the second emergency trigger message comprises a second trigger word;
• determining in the processing unit of the emergency response computer system whether a potential for a triggering mass event may have occurred by analyzing the first emergency trigger message and the second emergency trigger message, wherein the determining step confirms the potential for the triggering mass event according to the steps of determining the first trigger word and the second trigger word correspond to a related emergency situation and determining the first emergency trigger message and the second emergency trigger message had been received by the emergency response computer system within the predetermined time period;
• receiving location information at the emergency response computer system from the emergency module of the first mobile electrical device and the second mobile electrical device, wherein the location information is a comprised of a set of locations corresponding to the set of emergency trigger messages respectively corresponding to the first mobile electrical device and the second mobile electrical device, and wherein the set of locations is comprised of a first location and a second location respectively corresponding to the first mobile electrical device and the second mobile electrical device;
• determining in the processing unit of the emergency response computer system an occurrence of the triggering mass event when the potential for the triggering mass event has been confirmed by the related emergency situation and the predetermined time period and the location information indicates that the second mobile electrical device is within a predetermined distance from the first mobile electrical device;
• sending to the emergency module of the first mobile electrical device and the second mobile electrical device a mass emergency message from the emergency response computer system based on the occurrence of the triggering mass event;
• elevating in the processing unit of the emergency response computer system an emergency level from a first level to a second level based on the occurrence of the triggering mass event;
• determining in the processing unit of the emergency response computer system a first response unit and a second response unit from the set of emergency response units when the emergency level is elevated from the first level to the second level, wherein the first response unit and the second response unit respectively have a first response unit location and a second response unit location within the set of response unit locations, and wherein the first response unit and the second response unit are determined according to a respective proximity of the first response unit location and the second response unit location to the first location of the first mobile electrical device and the second location of the second mobile electrical device;
• transmitting the first location corresponding with the first mobile electrical device and the related emergency situation associated with the first emergency trigger message to the first response unit;
• and
• transmitting the second location corresponding with the second mobile electrical device and the related emergency situation associated with the second emergency trigger message to the second response unit.

An emergency messaging system configured to be used with three or more first electrical devices, the emergency messaging system comprising:

• a device communications module configured to run on at least one first processor and further configured to communicate with two or more sending electrical devices, the device communications module further configured to receive two or more emergency trigger messages from one or more users via the two or more sending electrical devices;
• a processing module configured to run on the at least one first processor and further configured to process the two or more emergency trigger messages to determine an emergency level, the processing module comprises:
• a location module configured to determine a first location of at least a first portion of the two or more sending electrical devices;
• and
• an analyzing module configured to analyze the two or more emergency trigger messages to determine a content of the two or more emergency trigger messages, wherein the content comprises a set of trigger words corresponding to a set of emergency situations, wherein the set of emergency situations includes a first emergency situation and at least a second emergency situation;
• a response module configured to run on the at least one first processor and further configured to determine a level of response to the two or more emergency trigger messages based upon the first location of at least the first portion of the two or more sending electrical devices and the content of the two or more emergency trigger messages, the levels of response comprise a first level response and a second level response;
• a determination module configured to run on the at least one first processor and further configured to use a second location of at least a second portion of the two or more sending electrical devices to determine an appropriate first response unit to notify, and an appropriate second response unit to notify, wherein the appropriate first response unit has a first response unit location, wherein the appropriate second response unit has a second response unit location, and wherein the determination module determines the appropriate first response unit and the appropriate second response unit respectively corresponding with the first location and the second location according to a respective proximity of the first response unit location and the second response unit location to the first location and the second location;
• and
• a notification module configured to run on the at least one first processor and further configured to notify the appropriate first response unit and the appropriate second response unit;
• wherein a mass event trigger limit is set in the processing module, wherein the mass event trigger limit is comprised of a defined number of emergency trigger messages received with a defined set of trigger words in a defined period of time from a set of locations for the sending devices within a defined distance from each other;
• wherein the determination module analyzes the emergency trigger messages relative to each other to confirm that the mass event trigger limit has been reached and initiates a mass event warning when the mass event trigger limit has been reached;
• wherein the determination module determines a relationship between a subset of the set of emergency situations, wherein the relationship between the subset of emergency situations is comprised of a correlation between the trigger words for a subset of the set of emergency trigger messages received within a predetermined time period from a subset of the set of locations within a predetermined distance from the first location;
• wherein the response module elevates the emergency level from the first level to the second level when the relationship between the subset of the set of emergency situations is determined to exist;
• and
• wherein the notification module transmits the first location of at least the first portion of the two or more sending electrical devices to the appropriate first response unit and transmits the second location of at least the second portion of the two or more sending electrical devices to the appropriate second response unit when the emergency level is elevated from the first level to the second level.

A method for emergency messaging to a target group using an emergency response computer system, the target group comprises two or more users, the method comprising:

• receiving from each of the two or more users information regarding a portable communication device respectively used by each of the two or more users;
• storing in one or more databases in the emergency response computer system a profile for each of the portable communication devices respectively associated with each of the two or more users;
• selecting a first geographic area for emergency messaging using a mapping module in the emergency response computer system;
• receiving current location information and an emergency trigger message in a communications module in the emergency response computer system from the portable communication device respectively used by at least a first user of the two or more users;
• processing in a processing module of the emergency response computer system the emergency trigger message and the current location information to respectively determine a first emergency situation and identify a set of affected devices, wherein the current location information is a first location within the first geographic area, and wherein the set of affected devices comprise the portable communication devices of the two or more users that are within the first geographic area;
• determining an appropriate emergency message corresponding with the first emergency situation;
• transmitting the emergency message through the communications module to the set of affected devices to alert corresponding users of the set of affected devices to the first emergency situation in the first geographic area;
• determining in the processing module an appropriate emergency group from a set of emergency groups, wherein the set of emergency groups is comprised of a police department, a fire department, and an emergency medical service, wherein each one of the emergency groups comprises a plurality of emergency response units, and wherein the processing unit selects the appropriate emergency group from the set of emergency groups according to the first emergency situation, wherein the step of processing the emergency trigger message further comprises analyzing a trigger word in the emergency trigger message;
• determining in the processing module a first response unit from the plurality of emergency response units in the appropriate emergency group selected by the processor, wherein the first response unit has a second location within the set of response unit locations, wherein the processor selects the first response unit according to its relationship within the appropriate emergency group and a proximity of the second location to the first location of the portable communication device used by the first user;
• transmitting from the communications module to the first response unit the first location of the portable communication device used by the first user and the first emergency situation associated with the emergency trigger message;
• setting a mass event trigger limit, wherein the mass event trigger limit is comprised of a defined number of emergency trigger messages received with a defined set of trigger words in a defined period of time from a set of locations within a defined distance from each other;
• analyzing in the processing module a plurality of emergency trigger messages relative to each other to confirm that the mass event trigger limit has been reached;
• initiating a mass event warning in the processing module when the mass event trigger limit has been reached;
• receiving a set of locations and a corresponding set of emergency trigger messages in the communications module from a set of the portable communication devices respectively used by a corresponding set of the two or more users;
• analyzing the set of emergency trigger messages in the processing module for a set of trigger words corresponding to a set of emergency situations, wherein the set of emergency situations includes the first emergency situation and at least a second emergency situation;
• determining a relationship between a subset of the set of emergency situations in the processing module, wherein the relationship between the subset of emergency situations is comprised of a correlation between the trigger words for a subset of the set of trigger messages received in the communications module within a predetermined time period from a subset of the set of locations within at least one of a predetermined distance from the first location and the first geographic area;
• elevating an emergency level from a first level to a second level when the relationship between the subset of the set of emergency situations is determined to exist;
• determining in the processing module a second response unit from the plurality of emergency response units in the appropriate emergency group selected by the processing module when the emergency level is elevated from the first level to the second level;
• transmitting from the communications module to the first response unit and the second response unit the first location corresponding with the portable communication device and the first emergency situation associated with the first trigger message when the emergency level is elevated from the first level to the second level.