Vehicles rented to accompany President Joe Biden on his Thanksgiving weekend trip to Nantucket, Massachusetts, Sunday burst into flames several hours after they were returned to Nantucket Memorial Airport and the preliminary investigation points to a Ford Expedition that was under recall for a faulty battery.
“The Secret Service had rented the vehicles for the president’s trip and dropped the SUVs off at Hertz on Sunday night,” Anthony Guglielmi, Secret Service communications chief, told the Free Press on Wednesday. “We were made aware of one Ford SUV catching fire early Monday morning. That SUV was parked next to several other vehicles which also caught fire because of the proximity to the Ford SUV. We had no issues when we drove the vehicles and they were returned without incident. The Ford SUV that caught fire was a Secret Service support vehicle and not used to transport any protectees.”
The federal agency is looking forward to following up with local fire authorities on the island, he said.
The fire chief could not be reached for comment.
The damaged vehicles included a Chevy Suburban, Ford Explorer, Infiniti QX80, Ford Expedition and a Jeep Gladiator, according to news reports.
Fire chief Michael Cranson said the fire is believed to have started in the Expedition and spread to the nearby vehicles and is not considered suspicious, The Inquirer and Mirror newspaper reported. Authorities didn’t directly release the date of the Ford SUV, but that year is the only year with a fire alert.
“There is nothing to lead us to believe it was intentionally started,” he told the island newspaper. “The investigation is pretty much complete. There was too much damage to determine an exact cause, so it’s going to go down as undetermined. It appears to have started in the engine compartment, but whether it was a battery issue, a fuel line issue, we don’t know.”
Ford issued a recall in May for the 2021 Expedition because of risk of injury for an engine compartment fire, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“If your vehicle is part of this recall, the manufacturer has recommended that you follow their instructions on how and where to park this vehicle,” read the words boxed in red on the agency’s recall site.
“An engine compartment fire may occur while driving or parked, even with the ignition in the ‘Off’ position,” the warning reads. “Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures and other vehicles, until the remedy is performed.”
Dealers needed to inspect and replace the battery junction box, as necessary, and remove a ground wire, Ford said in its federal regulatory filing. “On models equipped with standard-duty radiator fan motors, dealers will also install an auxiliary electrical box with a wire jumper.”
Lauren Luster, a Hertz spokeswoman, did not respond to specific questions about the incident.
She told the Free Press: “We can confirm that a fire involving our vehicles occurred early the morning of November 28, at the rental car overflow lot at Nantucket Memorial Airport. Fortunately, no one was injured. We are working with the local authorities on their investigation.”
The vehicles caught fire approximately seven hours after they were returned, Guglielmi told the Free Press.
“To be 100% clear, the president of the United States, or any protectee doesn’t ride in the rental cars. Those were Secret Service personnel. The president of the United States rides in government armored vehicles,” Guglielmi told the Free Press. “We had no problems with the vehicles when we had them. We questioned the agents. They did not report any mechanical issues. They didn’t report any performance issues. There was no reason for them, after returning the rental vehicles to report any type of problem or complaint to Hertz.”
He continued, “It was only that morning, Hertz contacted our office and said one of the vehicles, a Ford SUV, had caught fire overnight. There was no indication, and there continues to be no indication, of anything nefarious —anybody tampering with the Secret Service vehicles. We had no problems with the vehicles while they were in our possession.”
Airport manager Tom Rafter said staff observed the fire just after 5:20 a.m. through a closed-circuit TV system, according to the Inquirer and Mirror. Island firefighters and police joined airport firefighters, who took about 40 minutes to contain the fire that damaged six vehicles. Fire officials expressed concern about the proximity to a nearby fuel-tank farm.
Ford spokeswoman Maria Buczkowski told the Free Press, “We are aware of media reports regarding the situation and are working with authorities as more details emerge.”
If the vehicle was under recall, by law Hertz would be forced to ground the vehicle until the fix was completed.
Expedition fire problem led to lawsuit
Ford confirmed parts are available to make the fix and said it is not aware of any accidents related to the situation.
In June, three owners of 2021 Ford Expedition and 2021 Lincoln Navigator vehicles filed a lawsuit against Ford Motor Co., claiming the Dearborn automaker failed to disclose to customers a defect causing spontaneous fires in the engine compartment, and there is no fix. In July, Ford expanded its recall to some 66,000 SUVs while also announcing it had discovered a remedy.
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Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid.