Donations pour in for pair injured in food truck explosion
Jordan Glosser, right, suffered severe burns after the food truck she was working in burst into flames earlier this month. (Courtesy photo)
Online fundraising efforts have so far raised over $30,000 each for boutique ranch Clydesdale Outpost co-owner Matt Arnold-Ladensack and employee Jordan Glosser, who each suffered extensive third degree burns after the food truck they were working in exploded Aug. 1.
Arnold-Ladensack and Glosser were preparing a food truck for its grand opening the next day at Clydesdale Outpost, a private ranch in Whitefish, when an explosion went off inside the vehicle, according to Kambr Kutkowski, the ranch’s equestrian manager.
Arnold-Ladensack was thrown from the vehicle by the force of the blast, recalled Kutkowski, who said she arrived on the scene only minutes after getting a call notifying her of the explosion. Firefighters from Whitefish and Olney responded to the fire, according to a post on Clydesdale Outpost’s Facebook page.
The pair were cooking items in preparation for the next day’s festivities. They had planned on launching the mobile eatery, which was to go by the moniker Clydesdale Hitch, in downtown Whitefish. Kutkowski said that the cause of the blast remains unknown.
Photos of the truck in the aftermath of the blaze show the vehicle completely destroyed, with the interior burned out and the roof missing. The truck was only a few feet from the barn housing the ranch’s namesake horses, but the nearby structures and animals escaped harm.
Both Arnold-Ladensack and Glosser were transported to Kalispell for medical care before being airlifted to specialized burn units out of state.
Glosser, the food truck manager, suffered significant burns on 38 percent of her body during the fire, including on her back, chest, arms, legs and face. She is currently recovering in the Intensive Care Unit at Anschutz Medical Burn Center in Denver, where she has undergone three surgeries since being hospitalized, according to Glosser’s sister Jessica Schneider.
Schneider reports that Glosser is expected to have more procedures done over the next several weeks and will remain in intensive care for at least three months in what Schneider described as “a long, intense road to recovery ahead.”
Glosser has remained in good spirits and displayed her dry sense of humor in the hospital, with Schneider reporting that the medical team attending to her have been amazed at Glosser’s willingness to try exercises with such painful injuries. In an Aug. 7 update post, Schneider described her as “a warrior … fighting each day to face and to beat the obstacles set in front of her.”
Arnold-Ladensack sustained second and third degree burns on a third of his body, and is recovering at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
In a video update posted online, Arnold-Ladensack described the pain as “miserable, it’s like torture,” and said he was having difficulty standing and using his fingers. Although he also has a long path to recovery, he already is thinking about how he can help others dealing with burns, saying he will volunteer at a burn unit when he can.
“Things are looking up,” he said from his hospital bed. “I’m not going to give up, I’m going to make a full recovery and come back bigger and stronger.”
Each fundraiser has garnered donations from over 200 people and each raised over $30,000 since launching last week.
Clydesdale Outpost describes itself as a “boutique guest ranch experience with Clydesdale horses.”
Schneider said that Glosser is a Montana native who is passionate about animals and being a chef. She said that managing a food truck had long been Jordan’s dream.
Arnold-Ladensack had recently moved to Montana where he works as a real estate agent as well as co-owning the ranch. He is also an award-winning filmmaker who previously worked at animation studio DreamWorks.
Kutkowski said that at the ranch, the show must go on.
“We’re going to remain moving in the right direction, we have a lot of bookings and five more weddings this summer,” she said. “The most important thing to [Arnold-Ladensack]is that this place remains a sanctuary and a haven for people to come and enjoy our beloved Clydesdales.”
She is convinced that he will make a full recovery.
“[Arnold-Ladensack] is one of the most inspired and driven human beings that I have ever known,” Kutkowski said. “Anything he puts his mind to he puts his all into. Anything he thinks he’s capable of he accomplishes.”
The fundraiser for Jordan Glosser can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jordan-recover-after-explosion.
The fundraiser for Matt Arnold-Ladensack can be found at
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-matthew-after-an-extensive-burn-accident.
Reporter Adrian Knowler can be reached at 758-4407 or aknowler@dailyinterlake.com.