Patent ID: 8275404

Claim:
A system for monitoring and managing emergency services sector resources, comprising (a) a wireless communications device configured to establish a wireless network corresponding to that wireless communications device; (b) a plurality of wireless nodes, each wireless node being wirelessly connected to the wireless network established by the wireless communications device; (c) a user application comprising software loaded in a computer readable medium at a computing device for execution by a processor; (d) a message management and routing system configured to facilitate communications between the wireless communication device and the user application; (e) a user device configured to display information from the user application; (f) wherein each wireless node of the plurality of wireless nodes (i) is associated with an emergency services sector resource, (ii) is configured to communicate information regarding the emergency services sector resource to the user application via the wireless communications device; (g) wherein the user device is configured to display information regarding the emergency services sector resources from the user application; (h) wherein each wireless node is configured to hop messages received from other wireless nodes connected to the wireless network corresponding to the wireless communications device; (i) wherein a message received by the wireless communications device from a wireless node includes hop-path data comprising an identification of every wireless node that hopped the message on its way to the wireless communications device; and (j) wherein the user application is configured to utilize hop-path data to determine wireless nodes likely to be physically proximate a wireless node associated with an emergency services sector resource that is in distress.