5 Cars Rented By President Biden's Secret Service Burst Into Flames

Secret Service men walking beside black SUV. Motorcade.

Photo: Getty Images

Five vehicles that caught fire at Nantucket Memorial Airport were rented previously by the Secret Service for President Joe Biden and his family's visit during the Thanksgiving weekend, the agency confirmed to NBC Boston on Tuesday (November 29).

The fire took place at the airport on Monday (November 28) after the president's family had already left the island, where they typically spend their Thanksgivings.

Nantucket Memorial Airport shared a photo of several SUVs with heavy damage in what it described as a "vehicle fire in car rental overflow area" early Monday morning, which had caused the airport to close.

The airport said an active fire was observed in the rental car overflow area at approximately 5:22 a.m. through its closed-circuit television system, which resulted in staff activating the alert system.

"Several vehicles were damaged," the airport said in a press release. "The Airport is currently coordinating with rental car agencies and agency partners to ensure scene safety. There is no longer an active fire at this time: the Airport is open, and aeronautical operations are not affected."

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told NBC News that the vehicles were rented from Hertz and returned prior to the president and Secret Service departing from Nantucket.

Hertz is investigating the incident and is not involving the Secret Service, which doesn't have an information on what caused the fire to take place.

Guglielmi specified that President Biden nor his family rode in the vehicles that caught fire, which were instead used by Secret Service agents and staff around the island during the weekend and hadn't shown any issues at the time.

The fire took place within a day of being returned by the agency, sources with knowledge of the situation told the Nantucket Current.

One of the vehicles was reportedly scheduled to be serviced for a safety recall due to a faulty battery junction box, sources with knowledge of the situation told the newspaper.


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