Community lends support to family following boat fire

LAKE ROOSEVELT — A severe boat fire has left the Marchand family grappling with challenges after a gas explosion resulted in serious burns to multiple family members.  

Shawn Marchand, his adult daughter Morgan, and her two young children suffered significant injuries in the incident, which occurred at Lake Roosevelt while they were attempting to aid a person stranded on the water.  

In response to this tragic event, friends and family have set up a GoFundMe page to assist the Marchands with their extensive medical expenses, with a goal of $12,000. As of Tuesday, GoFundMe had raised around $9,700 for the family.  

The fundraiser is being spearheaded by Nokey Pando and Stacey Daniels, who expressed their commitment to support the family amid their ongoing recovery process at Harborview Hospital.  

"While we are incredibly relieved to share that they are all stable and hospitalized, their road to recovery will be exceptionally long and challenging," wrote Pando on the GoFundMe page. "They face extensive medical treatments, including numerous surgeries and rehabilitation, which will undoubtedly be an immense physical and emotional toll." 

According to Pando, the airlift to provide emergency medical care immediately followed the explosion, which left nearly 40% of the victims’ bodies severely burned.  

Pando shared that, although their conditions are stable, the family is enduring an intense recovery journey with numerous medical appointments and procedures ahead of them. 

In a recent update from the family, Pando relayed an account of the victims' current medical status from a family member who is in contact with him.  

“Today has been a rough day. Brooklyn went in for a bandage change and a better assessment, and it looks like she will need three skin grafts, not two, the tops of both of her feet and her left hand,” he said. 

Pando said that Sean will be going in for bandage checks on his back and legs. 

“Last but not least, Morgan, I've seen her arms get rewrapped today, and yikes, they are bad,” Pondo said. “Her right arm is burned from the tips of her fingers around her shoulder and all of her shoulder blades completely. Her finger skins are grayish brown, slowly coming off. Her hand is very swollen, and grafts are very likely, in time. Her other arm isn't as bad, but still burned three-quarters of the way from her finger to her shoulders.”  

The predicament began when the Marchands attempted to assist a stranded boater. Pando said that it is believed that a gas can located at the back of their boat ignited, leading to the fire that consumed most of their bodies.  

“We are reaching out to ask for community support,” Pando said. “Stacey Daniels is a very good family friend of theirs, and she just asked me to help out in the cause. Any assistance will mean a lot to them as they work through this ordeal.”  

The GoFundMe page aims to alleviate some of the financial burdens associated with prolonged medical care, including hospital stays, therapies and significant surgeries, Pando said.  

“It's important that they focus entirely on healing, and reducing the financial strain can help facilitate that,” Pando said.  

The Marchand family has received love and prayers from the community, but they need tangible support as they face this uphill battle, Pando said.  

“It truly takes a village to overcome such adversity,” Pando said.  

He remains hopeful that donations will flow in, allowing the family to navigate this prolonged recovery period without the added stress of financial worry. 

For those who would like to donate, visit bit.ly/MarchandGoFundMe.