Lifeboatmen not interested unless they can attend as a team, in a vehicle that costs a fortune, wear and use lots of expensive kit and make a jolly big fuss while they're doing it, bless them, every mother's son of them.
When you're not exactly sure what you are facing (general public aren't great at communicating what the issue is) why send one observer to find out, only to find real rescue services are required, and the time wasted may have killed the person or persons involved.
I'd rather they turned up in force if I ever need help.
That's the method the Mountain Rescue use.
Often we see reports where huge MR contingents rescue someone who's not really in peril.
Memorably last year more than 20 MR volunteers "rescued" a lady whose battery had gone flat on her wheelchair between Rydal Water and Grassmere.
It's not the mindset of the mountain rescue I knew, and sometimes despite best efforts, people aren't saved.
I was involve in mountain rescue to a small extent in late 70's early 80's, and I lost friends who were involved in rescues that went wrong, trying to help people in real trouble. Until you get there, you don't know what the problem is, so you send out resources. You may underestimate how many people it takes to find someone on a hill or mountain, even if the position has been reasonably accurately reported, and the reporter has given a reasonable representation of the actual issue, which is rare.
That's not a fault of the rescue services, more education of the people who rely on them to get out of issues that used to be down to you to help yourself out of?