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Tree-Climbing 5-Year-Old Rescued From 25-Foot-High Perch

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By LAURA FIORILLI-CREWS and DENNIS JOYCE, TBO.com

Published: May 29, 2008

Updated: 05/29/2008 06:43 pm

The adventure of tree-climbing lost its appeal today for a 5-year-old Winter Haven boy.

Brandon Lambert climbed about 25 feet up a tree, got stuck, and had to be rescued by Polk County Fire Rescue.

Brandon's paternal grandmother, Kim Lambert, recounted what happened to him. She said Brandon had been playing outside his home in Jan Phyl Village with his dad, Shannon Lambert, and his siblings and neighborhood children, early this afternoon. Shannon Lambert went inside to put one of the other children down for a nap.

When Shannon went back outside, Kim Lambert said, he found that Brandon had climbed the tree and was so far up that he couldn't come down.

"I guess [he did it] just for the adventure, to see if he could do it," Kim Lambert said.

The oak tree Brandon climbed doesn't have low-hanging limbs, Kim Lambert said. Brandon apparently made his way up by first climbing onto a four-wheeler that was parked next to the tree.

Shannon Lambert called his mother for help. Once Kim Lambert understood just how far Brandon had climbed, she suggested summoning firefighters with their longer ladders.

Rescue units were called about 1:15 p.m.

For the next hour, Brandon clung to the tree, swaying with the branches when the wind blew, Kim Lambert said.

Rescuers had to remove one branch that blocked them from reaching Brandon, his grandmother said. They strapped Brandon into a harness and helped him down the ladder.

The boy was safely back on the ground just after 2:15 p.m. A few hours later, except for a surge of calls from reporters, his life was back to normal.

There's one thing he said he won't do anymore, though.

"I used to like climbing trees," he said, "but now I don't like climbing trees."

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