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Army vet's food truck, Squatchy's BBQ, engulfed in flames, asks community for support
Emily Teel
Statesman Journal
Not even a year since they launched their business, Jason and Julie Lorraine, owners of Squatchy's BBQ, are faced with figuring out how to start from scratch, all over again.
On Sunday, July 15th, just before noon, Jason Lorraine was driving the barbecue trailer, hitched to his truck, from his home in Molalla to a food truck rally in Stayton.
He noticed smoke coming off of the trailer while driving through Silverton and pulled over on A Street near First.
"I originally though I could put it out with the fire extinguisher, but the minute I got out of the truck I realized, that's not gonna work."
The trailer body, along with the attached grill, smoker, and all of the affiliated equipment–refrigerators, slow cookers, and signs–quickly became completely engulfed in flames.
Lorraine was able to unhitch his truck from the burning trailer, but the truck itself sustained heat damage, a scorched body and rear section of brake and taillights, melted completely.
"I grabbed whatever I could think to grab out of the truck, our phones, our cash," says Lorraine, but then, "I just had to stand there and watch it burn."
The Silverton Fire Department responded and was able to subdue the blaze, but the trailer–and the Lorraine's livelihood along with it–was completely torched.
"Unfortunately," says Silverton Fire District Assist Chief Ed Grambusch, "the entire thing was so consumed with fire that there was no discernible source." He did note that the report rules the fire as non-suspicious.
Though Lorraine expects insurance to cover a portion of the damage, "the amount of loss is going to be way greater than the trailer itself...when you're building a food truck you don't think about the amount that goes into it...you don't picture it going up in flames."
According to Lorraine, "what we're being told is that we'll have a $5,000 max on any one item, but anything bolted in or attached to it they count as part of the trailer," which means that all of the affiliated equipment loaded within the trailer– the smoker, slow cookers, and everything else–insurance may not cover.
The news is devastating to the couple. Jason Lorraine was born and raised in Salem, but spent 20 years in the Army, stationed in Texas. He served 4 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, before eventually retiring in 2016 and moving home, with his family, with plans to start a barbecue business.
"Our whole family built it and worked on it, it's a family owned business."
Both of his daughters have also enlisted, Kelsey, 19, in the Air Force, and Courtney, 18 in the Army. Courtney leaves for basic training next week.
"Now, we're left without a trailer or any way to make money and the time frame to build a trailer and get it inspected or anything," Lorraine laments, "it would take months."
Friends of the business have launched a Go Fund Me campaign with a $25,000 goal to help offer some relief from what Lorraine anticipates the shortfall to be between the insurance coverage and the actual cost of replacing the destroyed equipment.
For now, the couple is debating how to move forward, whether that's with a new truck, a brick-and-mortar restaurant, or something else, perhaps even including a Squatchy's pop-up or guest-chef style temporary home.
For today at least, Jason will be at Seven Brides Brewing from 3:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., where, since February, he has been supplying attendees at Food Truck Tuesdays with barbecue.
"I can't do the brisket or the pulled pork," he says, but he'll be there with a camp stove, grilling hot dogs in exchange for donations to help start the process of building back up.
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