Cars Rented, Returned by Secret Service Catch Fire

Airport open following vehicle fire in car rental overflow area. @InkyM @ACKCurrent pic.twitter.com/3o048KtJRY

— Nantucket Airport (@AirportACK) November 28, 2022

A group of vehicles that caught fire and briefly shut down the Nantucket, Massachussetts, Airport, had previously been rented by the Secret Service for the Thanksgiving holiday visit of President Joe Biden and his family. The fire happened at 5:00 a.m. on November 28, after the Bidens left Nantucket and the cars were returned to the airport.

The vehicles were rented from Hertz. The car rental company is investigating the fire, and the Secret Service is not involved.

Neither the president nor his family rode in the vehicles that were involed in the fire. They were used to shuttle Secret Service agents and staff around the island, and presented no issues while in use, NBC Boston reported.

The vehicles were parked in an overflow lot, near a set of fuel tanks.

The Nantucket Current reports that officials are focusing on a white Ford Expedition that was among the vehicles, as the potential source of the fire. It was under a safety recall by the OEM due to a faulty battery junction box that has caused fires elsewhere. It had been scheduled for service under the recall, but hadn't yet been repaired. The Expedition was among five vehicles that were towed away from the airport parking lot with damage.