Thread by @ACKCurrent

An investigation into the fire that consumed five rental vehicles that had been used by Secret Service agents during President Biden’s visit to the island has determined the blaze was not suspicious, according to #Nantucket Fire Chief Michael Cranson.

While the official cause is undetermined, officials have focused on a white Ford Expedition as the initial source of the fire. That vehicle was under a safety recall by the manufacturer due to a faulty battery junction box that has caused car fires elsewhere.

While it had been scheduled for service under the recall, sources said, the Expedition had not yet been repaired.

Here’s that recall: ford.com/support/how-to…

The five vehicles had been rented by @Hertz to some of the dozens of Secret Service agents on the island providing security for President Biden and his family, two sources confirmed to the Current.

The fact that the fire consumed the rental vehicles just hours after President Biden left the island has prompted widespread national media coverage of the story. Cranson said he had been inundated by calls from reporters on Tuesday.

The Secret Service did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The fire, which erupted in a rental car lot at Nantucket Memorial Airport around 5am Monday morning, was just 40 feet from the airport’s 25,000-gallon jet fuel tanks.

The 5 rental vehicles that sustained significant damage were facing each other at the origin of the fire and had their front ends totaled by the blaze. The following 5 cars were towed away:

• Chevy Suburban
• Ford Explorer
• Infiniti QX80
• Ford Expedition
• Jeep Gladiator

Cranson said investigators had confirmed the Expedition was under a recall, but there was so much damage to the front end it was impossible to to determine if the battery junction box was the source of the fire.