A fire near Nantucket Memorial Airport has destroyed at least five Secret Service vehicles used by the affluent Massachusetts island during President Joe Biden’s Thanksgiving holiday.
The vehicles, owned by Hertz, were only recently returned to the rental car company by the USSS, according to sources who spoke to Nantucket Current.
The fire involving the rental car broke out on Monday — the day after Biden left Nantucket to return to the White House.
No one was hurt, but at least four vehicles were badly damaged in the fire that burned just 40 feet from the airport’s 25,000-gallon jet fuel tank.
Five vehicles leased by the U.S. Secret Service caught fire during President Joe Biden’s Thanksgiving vacation to Nantucket. Fire comes just 40 feet from airport’s 25,000-gallon jet fuel tank
Vehicles leased from Hertz burned in an as yet unexplained fire in the parking lot of Nantucket Memorial Airport on Monday — just a day after the president left the island to return to Washington, D.C.
One of those vehicles is a Ford Expedition, and the manufacturer is recalling the batteries. The vehicle was scheduled to have its battery replaced but had not been replaced at the time of the fire
Five vehicles the U.S. Navy leased during Biden’s Thanksgiving trip to Nantucket — a Chevrolet Suburban, Ford Explorer, Infiniti QX80, Ford Expedition and Jeep Gladiator — were towed away by the fire.
The vehicles were used to ferry the president’s family around the island.
While it’s unclear what caused the fire, the Ford Expedition is undergoing a battery recall from the manufacturer. The batteries involved in the fire were scheduled to be replaced but had not been replaced at the time of the fire.
Biden and his family spent Thanksgiving on the luxurious island of Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts. Pictured: The president enjoys drinks with his daughter Ashley and first lady Jill Biden while shopping at small businesses in Nantucket on Saturday
The incident is being investigated given that the vehicles had been used by the president’s security personnel the day before the fire broke out.
Video posted on Twitter by Nantucket Current shows the front end of the vehicle completely engulfed in flames.
Biden flew to Nantucket on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving with first lady Jill Biden and his son Hunter, his wife Melissa Cohen and their son Beau. The president returned to Washington, D.C., on Sunday, November 27, after spending Thanksgiving on the island.
A massive security operation apparently took place as the president and his family walked the rain-drenched streets during the Thanksgiving holiday in Nantucket. This security includes elite Secret Service counter-sniper pairs
The airport released a statement on the incident: “At approximately 5.22am, airport duty personnel observed a fire in the overflow area of ​​the rental car via the airport’s CCTV system. Staff activated the alarm system and responded to the fire at Airport 3. reacted They were met by response units from the Nantucket Fire Department and the Nantucket Police Department.
“Joint Fires Resources responded and brought the fire under control,” the statement added. “Several vehicles were damaged.”
Operations at the airport were not affected by the fire, which was extinguished, according to the statement.