An emergency response system which can work alongside traditional public emergency response systems. The emergency response system of the present invention comprises a central computer system and client devices. In case of an emergency, when a registered user dials an emergency number, in addition to the call being received by a conventional emergency response systems, a separate parallel communication to the central computer system of the present invention gets triggered automatically. On receiving the emergency communication the computer system selects most suitable registered volunteer responders and an alert is sent to the selected registered volunteer responders. For the responders who accept the request for help, the computer system establishes a communication channel with the caller client device. This way, the emergency response system of the present invention enables participation of volunteers from the civil society in providing faster emergency response to fellow citizens.