A fire near Nantucket Memorial Airport set at least five vehicles ablaze that were used by the Secret Service during President Joe Biden’s Thanksgiving vacation on the wealthy Massachusetts island.
The vehicles are owned by Hertz and were just recently returned to the rental car company by USSS, according to sources who spoke with the Nantucket Current.
The fire involving the rental cars occurred Monday after Biden left Nantucket to return to the White House.
There were no injuries, but at least four cars sustained significant damage in the fire, just 40 feet from the airport’s 25,000-gallon jet fuel tanks.
Five cars rented by the USSS during Biden’s Thanksgiving trip to Nantucket were towed due to the fire – they are a Chevy Suburban, Ford Explorer, Infiniti QX80, Ford Expedition, and Jeep Gladiator.
The vehicles were used to transport the president’s family around the island.
Although it is not immediately clear what caused the fire, the Ford Expedition is under a manufacturer battery recall. The vehicle involved in the fire was scheduled to receive a replacement battery, but it had not yet been swapped out at the time of the fire.
The incident is now under investigation considering the vehicles were used by the president’s security detail just one day before bursting into flames.
The Nantucket Current released videos on Twitter showing the front ends of vehicles that were completely obliterated by the fire.
President Biden flew to Nantucket the Tuesday before Thanksgiving with first lady Dr.Jill Biden, his son Hunter, his wife, Melissa Cohen, and their son Beau Jr. The president returned to Washington, D.C., on Sunday, November 27, after spending the Thanksgiving holiday on the island.
