UPDATE: 5-Year-Old Boy Dies from Injuries After Tree Branch Falls on Tent

Prior to the Fire Departments arrival two bystanders had already removed the 20 foot-long, several hundred pound branch from the boy.

(CANBY, Ore. ) - Ethan Hansen has died after suffering traumatic head injuries when a tree branch broke and landed on the tent he and friends were sleeping in.

Just before 11:00 PM Thursday night, Clackamas County 911 was notified by the father of a 5-year-old boy that a tree branch had broken from and landed on the tent his son and friends were sleeping in.

The family was camping at Elks Park, located at 12178 S Mulino Rod, in Rural Canby. Elks Park sits along the Molalla River, and is a favorite camping spot for many area residents.

While Canby Firefighters and Paramedics were enroute to the incident they were getting information that indicated that the boy was likely critically injured.

During the same few seconds a house fire was also dispatched in Canby, which required strategic managing of resources to assure both critical incidents received the necessary equipment and personnel.

In lieu of these dynamics, Canby firefighter Matt English activated Lifeflight before their actual arrival to the scene.

"If the boy was critical I wanted to make sure we got Lifeflight coming our way -- I knew we were going to be handling this call with less equipment than normal."

English selected the Mulino Airport as the Lifeflight landing zone, and requested Molalla Fire to secure the LZ.

Prior to the Fire Departments arrival two bystanders had already removed the 20 foot-long, several hundred pound branch from the boy, who was sleeping in the tent with five other boys.

The boy was quickly evaluated and stabilized, and then transported to the Mulino Airport, where Lifeflight was waiting.

The boy was transferred to Lifeflight and his condition is considered critical. The patient was transported to Legacy Emanuel Hospital.

The branch that broke free and landed on the tent had a base diameter of approximately 10", was roughly 20 feet in overall length, and broke off at its base which was nearly 30' from the ground.

"This was a very freak, and very tragic accident," said Divsion Chief Troy Buzalsky. "Responding to critically injured patients is something we regularly see, however, when the injured person is a child it always brings out added emotions. Many of our firefighters have children in this age group, so these calls hit home especially hard."