In the small town of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, known more for its quiet woods and scenic backroads than emergency headlines, a team of firefighters recently faced a rescue situation straight out of a childhood adventure story.
On a quiet Tuesday afternoon, the Rehoboth Fire Department received an unusual 911 call: a young boy was stuck in a tree, 35 feet up.
“Everyone knows fire departments respond to cats stuck in a tree,” the department shared in a Facebook post on April 22, alongside photos of the dramatic yet heartwarming rescue. “Well today was a first for us, we responded to a kid stuck in a tree. We successfully removed the little fella from the tree and placed him safely on the ground where he belongs.”
The boy in question was 5-year-old Malachi Eckerson, a curious and energetic kindergartner with a taste for climbing, and evidently, some engineering instincts. According to his mother, Hayley, the situation escalated faster than anyone could have imagined.
“It was a matter of five minutes,” Hayley said. “I think he put a board up against a tree that he had found from his daddy’s wood pile, which got him to the lowest branches, and he scampered his way up to the top and called me over excited to show me.”
That sense of triumph quickly turned into panic. While Malachi had made it up with ease, the way down wasn’t so simple.
“He was perched comfortably on a branch holding onto another branch, so we knew he was stable for the moment,” Hayley said, noting that though he was scared, he wasn’t in immediate danger.
Hayley and her husband, Nate, acted quickly, calling 911. Within minutes, Rehoboth Fire Chief Frank Barresi and his crew were on the scene, maneuvering their ladder truck down the family’s long and narrow driveway.
“We responded with the ladder truck and we were able to get the truck down the driveway,” Barresi said. “One of the captains secured him with a rope and a belt just to make sure he was safe and carried him down a ladder.”
Such rescues, while not common, are not unheard of. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), fire departments in the U.S. responded to over 300,000 “rescue and emergency service calls” in 2022 that didn’t involve fires. Many involved assisting people in unusual predicaments, including pets, children, and even adults stuck in tricky spots.
Fortunately, Malachi’s daring climb had a happy ending: no injuries, just a good story, and a slightly more cautious household.
“We’re going to tell the story about Malachi climbing the tree for a very long time,” said Nate, chuckling. The family also told local reporters they plan to make adjustments to the yard to discourage further tree-climbing adventures, at least for now.
In a time when emergency responders often face high-stress and sometimes tragic situations, this rescue was a refreshing reminder of the community role firefighters play, whether it’s putting out fires or gently plucking an ambitious little boy from the heights of a tall oak tree.
