WTH??? 5 cars rented by the Biden family burst into flames the day after they left the island!!!!!!

[a kennedy]

Five cars rented by President Joe Biden’s Secret Service detail for his Thanksgiving weekend trip to Nantucket mysteriously burst into flames a day after he left, according to reports.

Footage of the burned out rental vehicles in a car park at Nantucket Memorial Airport was obtained by the Nantucket Current.

The local news site reported that the cause of the fire was under investigation. No one was injured in the blaze.

Footage showed firefighters dampening down the smouldering remains of several vehicles including a Chevy Suburban, a Ford Explorer, an Infiniti QX80, a Ford Expedition, and a Jeep Gladiator.

Mr Biden spent Thanksgiving weekend at the exclusive Massachusetts island with his family.

(From the Independent on SmartNews)

[Gore1FL]

1. Here is a link to an article on the subject.

https://tribunetimes.co.uk/news/world/five-cars-rented-by-biden-family-burst-into-flames-in-nantucket/

[a kennedy]

16. Thanks for posting a link, I couldn't copy it from the Independent.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

2. Oh my!

Hope there are answers soon as to what brought this on.

[Effete Snob]

4. Well...

Since the Ford Expedition had not undergone its recall service for the battery prone to catch fire, that would be one place to start.

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-recalls-defects/ford-expedition-and-lincoln-navigator-recalled-for-fire-risk-a1081224865/


Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator Recalled for Fire Risk

The automaker says to park these full-sized SUVs outside, away from structures, until repairs are done

[Tribetime]

41. But 5 at same time....

[Effete Snob]

46. Have you ever seen a parking lot fire?

It starts with one car



If you get an underhood fire going in a car which is parked next to another car, then you are going to soon have 2 cars on fire.

This is the entire rental fleet at an airport in Florida:



Fun fact about rental car parking lots. They are full of cars and empty of people outside of business hours, and the Nantucket airport rental operation is not buzzing with activity 24/7, so a fire has time to go places.

Here's the Carowinds Amusement Park:



Do a Google Image search on "parking lot fire" and show me the parking lot with several adjacent cars where only ONE car burned.

Miami Dolphins game:



Woburn Mass transit lot:



How did SIX cars burn in that one?

[Tribetime]

58. Wow no never have thanks

[msfiddlestix]

69. Oh sure, this sort of thing happens every day.. .

I'm pretty sure I saw it in a movie at least once..

[Zeitghost]

75. Car fires happen every day

It's a thing.

[Effete Snob]

85. This was the warmup

The same gang has been working New England parking lots.

They got six in Woburn:



Then they got three in Mount Washington:



It's pretty obvious that since it is impossible for a fire in one car to spread to adjacent cars in a parking lot, that this gang was practicing in those fires first.

[LeftInTX]

88. Hey! We gave my sister in law a car

Here is the vehicle's fate. We got to watch the 1977 Nova burn alive on the local news..LOL

97 CARS GO UP IN SMOKE AT FIREFIGHTERS' COOK-OFF

SAN ANTONIO — A blaze in a parking lot destroyed 97 vehicles at a cook-off staged by firefighters for victims of house fires, officials say. Investigators speculated a discarded cigarette or a hot catalytic converter touching the dry grass on which the cars were parked may have triggered the blaze Sunday at the 3rd Annual Bush's Canned Foods South Texas Menudo Cook-off. Several firefighters and a few spectators were treated for heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. The event was sponsored by the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association to benefit families whose homes were destroyed by fire. About 8,000 people were attending the cook-off, which continued despite the fire.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1991-03-26-9103260696-story.html

[Effete Snob]

90. That is really, um, something

So, was your sister in law in Nantucket recently?

[LeftInTX]

93. Nope! She's down in South Texas cooking menudo

[Effete Snob]

3. That's why the Ford Expedition was under recall

The actual source - the Nantucket Current - mentions the likely source of the fire. That part seems to be omitted by the source not linked in the OP:

Link to tweet

The cars were owned by Hertz, and had just been returned by members of the Secret Service who had been using them during President Biden’s visit, sources said.

The Ford Expedition was under a battery recall by the manufacturer and had recently had the battery switched out.

...

Correction: it had been scheduled for recall service but the battery had NOT been swapped out yet

Rental companies hardly ever take their vehicles in for recall repairs, since it's nobody's job in particular.

[BlackSkimmer]

9. Thanks for this, though I'm sure it won't stop the sure-to-come conspiracy theories. nt

[Tribetime]

42. 5 at same time

[Effete Snob]

51. Here's EIGHT

Ah, yes, the famous Carowinds Amusement Park burning car mystery.

How could eight cars be damaged in a fire that only started in one car?

Or, my God, the same crew working New England got three at Mt. Washington:



It's almost like it is actually REALLY HARD TO BURN JUST ONE CAR in a parking lot when it is parked next to other cars.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

54. In my mind's ear, I can hear Bert Lahr saying that now. NT

[Tribetime]

59. Ty 👍

[CBHagman]

70. I don't know why I've just found out about this...

[Effete Snob]

71. Park in the lot away from the stores

And enjoy the fact that you’ll get additional exercise from walking.

[Wingus Dingus]

13. The chance of the recall defect actually causing the fire, though--

of THIS PARTICULAR CAR AT THIS LOCATION--really slim. I mean, most recalls involve thousands and thousands of vehicles, vast majority of which will never have the problem arise. So while the recall is important info here, it's not conclusive that there was no tampering.

[Effete Snob]

20. Obviously there is a chance of it happening

or there would not be a recall.

------------
Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group (CCRG) opened an investigation on March 24, 2022, after eight reports of underhood engine fires and one report of a melted battery junction box on 2021 Expeditions. Of those initial eight fire allegations, six occurred when the vehicles were parked and shut off, and the other two occurred while driving. 

As of May 12, CRGG was aware of 16 related reports of underhood fires. In total, 12 events occurred while the vehicles were parked and shut off, one when the vehicle was parked and turned on, and three when the vehicles were being driven. In those three cases customers reported a burning smell and smoke from the engine compartment. Since then, Ford has received reports of 21 underhood fires.
------------

And, OMG, it happened in the most common manner of the reported events.

So, let's talk about "chances". How many terrorist car bombings have resulted in mere fires in several parked cars a day after the target left? (these were returned by the secret service, but Biden was already long gone)

Tell me about the chances of that?

[Wingus Dingus]

24. Yeah, I understand the recall issue. However, because these cars were used

by the President's entourage, hopefully investigators will...you know...investigate. It's wrong to jump to conclusions either way.

[Effete Snob]

26. "hopefully investigators will...you know...investigate"

Yup.

Nantucket has a fire department that investigates the cause of every fire. It's an island, so their ability to call in additional firefighting resources if something really goes south is limited, and I'll bet they like to know why every fire started.

[Wingus Dingus]

29. No, if these were used for Secret Service, staff, related to Presidential visit--

it should be a little more in-depth than just local FD.

[OAITW r.2.0]

14. So, the Expedition was the primary cause of the fire and the other vehicles were

adjacent casualties? Seems logical...

[Mr.Bill]

44. That's what the pictures look like.

The headline at the link is a bit misleading. Five cars didn't simultaneously burst into flames.

[elleng]

67. 'Thanks'

[iemanja]

83. All five at the same time?

I find that unlikely.

[Effete Snob]

84. They did not ignite at the same time

Did you look at the pictures and video from the Nantucket Current? The original source for the story?

The car in the middle - the Expedition, is a whole lot more burned, because it was the one that caught fire first. LIKE ANY OTHER PARKING LOT FIRE.

Nantucket is not a busy airport. If a car ignites in the parking lot, the fire spreads to other cars.

That's utterly normal for parking lot fires.



When a car catches fire in a parking lot due to an underhood electrical problem, it burns really hot because it has a lot of combustible fuel in it. The neighboring cars then catch fire.

How do you explain the EIGHT cars burned in the Carowinds amusment parking lot fire, pictured above?

Newark Airport:



3500 CARS IN A FLORIDA AIRPORT RENTAL LOT:



Here's the story on that one:

https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/04/06/fl-rental-car-lot-fire-orig-vstop-bdk.cnn

Fire near airport burns over 3,500 rental cars

[LeftInTX]

89. 97 Cars Go Up In Smoke At Firefighter's Cook-Off

One of those vehicles used to ours! We had given it to my sister in law and we got to watch it burn on the local news

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1991-03-26-9103260696-story.html

SAN ANTONIO — A blaze in a parking lot destroyed 97 vehicles at a cook-off staged by firefighters for victims of house fires, officials say. Investigators speculated a discarded cigarette or a hot catalytic converter touching the dry grass on which the cars were parked may have triggered the blaze Sunday at the 3rd Annual Bush's Canned Foods South Texas Menudo Cook-off. Several firefighters and a few spectators were treated for heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. The event was sponsored by the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association to benefit families whose homes were destroyed by fire. About 8,000 people were attending the cook-off, which continued despite the fire.

[iemanja]

91. At a benefit held by the fire dept?

[triron]

5. Where is MSM?

[Effete Snob]

6. MSM reported the fire risk recall of the Ford Expedition

An unrepaired car under a safety recall for fire risk caught fire, and the local news found out that, yep, recalled car had not been repaired. Alert all ships at sea!

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-recalls-defects/ford-expedition-and-lincoln-navigator-recalled-for-fire-risk-a1081224865/


Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator Recalled for Fire Risk

The automaker says to park these full-sized SUVs outside, away from structures, until repairs are done


In other news, guy whose roof was damaged in storm last year has begun to leak.

Pretty interesting that the local news zeroed right in on which car seemed to have started the fire, and asked whether it had been taken in for the recall repair.

Pretty sad that people don't check out that great reporting.

[brush]

7. Hmmmm? Does the Secret Service have some answering to do?

If they were all the same make and model I could see it being a manufacturing defect, but they're all different models. All five bursting into flame, and all five rented for the Biden family...no, that's doesn't seem to be a coincidence to me.

Something's up. Is this a warning that the president can be reached? Come on, Secret Service. Don't you inspect cars that are rented for the president?

[TheProle]

10. Fire has this unique ability to spread

I don't see anything that suggests they all independently combusted.

[Effete Snob]

15. As does misinformation and rumor

[brush]

47. And I for one don't completely trust the Secret Service after how...

the entire agency deleted info as to their actions on J6. Were some in cahoots with the coup plotters?

What did they hide. My memory is a little longer than to forget we probably will never know.

[Effete Snob]

49. Oh, okay

So, the Secret Service rented these cars and then arranged to have them catch fire in a parking lot a day after everyone left.

Great plot.

[brush]

50. There you go again projecting your plot imaginings onto someone else.

Tell me something oh gullibe one, do you entirely trust the Secret Service? If you do, I feel sorry for you.

[RobinA]

18. No, It Looks Like

the one started it and then the others were burned in the blaze.

[SheltieLover]

11. Prelude to a qpuke speaker in line of succession.

[Effete Snob]

28. Yeah

It would be terrible to have people who are prone to baseless knee-jerk conspiracy theorizing like Q garbage to obtain positions of power.

[SheltieLover]

31. Well, Kamala's vehicle has a rather suspicious mishap lately.

[Effete Snob]

12. Did you bother to look at the pictures?

"If they were all the same make and model I could see it being a manufacturing defect, but they're all different models."

...which were parked next to each other.



https://www.consumerreports.org/car-recalls-defects/ford-expedition-and-lincoln-navigator-recalled-for-fire-risk-a1081224865/

Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator Recalled for Fire Risk

The automaker says to park these full-sized SUVs outside, away from structures, until repairs are done

So, one of the cars in question was known to be a fire risk. The local paper confirmed it had not been taken in for the recall repair. It caught fire next to several other cars.

But, yes, clearly a plot...

[Bev54]

21. It looks to me that one car burst into flames which spread to others.

We just had that happen in my home town in a parkade with a Mini Cooper burst into flames and destroyed two cars on each side and damaged others.

[brush]

30. You said it clearly was a plot. I asked a question.

And one other one I should've asked: did any cars in the lot other than the Biden cars burst into flame?

[Effete Snob]

32. Obviously, you didn't look at the pictures

One car - guess which one - had a really big underhood fire. The ones immediately around it also caught fire, as normally happens when one car parked next to others catches fire.

Who said anything about "burst into flame". Unless you have some eyewitness account of the start of the fire, would you mind explaining where you got "burst into flame".

[brush]

33. Ok, make a big deal of the phrase "burst into flame", have at it.

That phrase was used in the OP btw. Did you read it?

"Five cars rented by President Joe Biden’s Secret Service detail for his Thanksgiving weekend trip to Nantucket mysteriously burst into flames a day after he left, according to reports."

But did any other cars in the lost catch fire other than the cars the Biden party rented? The photo is not that clear to see if other cars caught fire.

[Effete Snob]

34. Yes, you can see that in the pictures

Unless they had a Jeep Wrangler for some odd reason.

That's normal in parking lot fires. If you don't get in early, they're all going up.

Newark Airport:



San Francisco Airport:



SEA-TAC:



3500 Rental Cars At Southwest Florida Airport (RSW):



Parking lot fires are a pain in the ass.

[brush]

35. Clear to you maybe, but what about the "burst into flames" phrase?

It's in the OP.

[Effete Snob]

36. So what?

So is the word "mysteriously" in the copy that was written by someone regurgitating things they didn't see.

The actual reporter on the scene was the Nantucket current posted a series of tweets, pictures and videos, which I have helpfully linked in this thread to contribute first hand factual information to the discussion.

[brush]

37. "So what?" Why did you get on me about that phrase when it was in the OP?

Come on. Admit there was no reason to mention that.

[Effete Snob]

62. If you must know

Since the OP was an unlinked piece alleged to be from a British tabloid, I really didn't pay it much attention except for the identification of the Nantucket Current as having the goods on this incident. So, I then went to look for the Twitter account of the Nantucket paper of record and, lo and behold, there was video and a wealth of information there. Having gone to the actual source of the information, I didn't really pay a lot of attention to the unlinked material in the OP, so the phrase kind of jumped out when you attached some kind of sigificance to the dramatic flair of a second-hand tabloid summary.

But what is particularly interesting is that the reporter on the scene in Nantucket picked upon the recall of the model of car that appeared to be the cause of the fire. I doubt that reporter has an encyclopedic offhand knowledge of auto recalls, so one could safely conclude that it was the subject of some discussion with the firefighters and the Hertz rental people on the scene. I'll bet the firefighters have seen a car fire or two before.

Taking a car off the island to a dealer for a recall is a major pain in the ass, since the recall was announced before the summer season, the ferries are booked full, and it is an expense just to get the car to the mainland.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

39. If you can't believe what you read in a British tabloid, then what can you believe? NT

[brush]

45. No one here was there. Do you know? What's the big deal anyway over that wording?

Some people zero in on the silliest, minor things. Whether the cars simply caught fire or burst into flames, they burned.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

48. "What's the big deal anyway over that wording?"

What's the big deal anyway over that wording?

Oh, I don't know. I can't imagine that newspapers would be concerned with things like "words."

[brush]

52. Were you there?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

53. Why, no, I was not.

Let's just suppose that some local fire department showed up for the event. And that said fire department has been through some sort of training, the sort of training that lets the members of the department evaluate car fires. They put their training to use and quickly determine where the fire started. It was that Ford SUV. Oh, that model has a recall campaign going on. For fires originating with the electrical system, not the fuel system. Mystery solved.

On to page six, with the spy snaps of some topless duchess on a beach in Spain.

[brush]

55. Wonderful. Feel good about youself?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

56. Couldn't be happier. Thanks for asking. The checks from Rupert Murdoch keep clearing, so I'm good.

[Effete Snob]

63. I think it does not come naturally

...to some folks to think, "hmm... isn't it interesting that a reporter for an island small town newspaper was aware of the recall, and of the car's status in relation to that recall."

The inferential ability to deduce the most likely reason why that would have popped into the reporter's head is not as common as it might seem.

In a place like Nantucket, it's pretty likely the reporter, the firemen, and the people who run the rental counter, all know one another.

But, yeah, then he or she checked with the rental company and, if you think about it, it's perfectly obvious why someone running the Hertz counter at the mighty globe-spanning Nantucket Airport doesn't hustle off with one of the cars to a dealer on the mainland to get a recall issue fixed. Particularly if you know anything about getting onto or off Nantucket with a vehicle.

It's an endemic problem with rental cars. They are only going to be with the company for a relatively short while, and it is not cost effective to get the recall issues fixed. I rented a VW model this summer on a trip and the whole infotainment system (navigation, phone interface, radio and rearview camera) crashed and could not be reset back to life no matter what. After futzing around with it and Google, I found out that it was a known issue subject to a recall months previously, but the rental agency obviously doesn't have anyone for whom that is "my job".

[elleng]

68. Thanks.

Think I'll stay with my 'new' toyo, and encourage family NOT to drive/rent/buy one of these.

[brooklynite]

22. Hint: The President doesn't ride in a Hertz rental from the airport.

These were for staff members; hardly a juicy target.

[Effete Snob]

25. Hertz should report the cars stolen

Like they do with other rentals.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

38. Best response yet. NT

[Zeitghost]

78. Indeed

And hardly a way to inflict harm. Car fires are pretty easy to avoid unless you're passed out in one.

[NJCher]

8. Ok fine

What about the other vehicles, like the Suburban?

[Zeitghost]

76. They were parked next to the Ford

n/t

[NJCher]

86. So you think the fire

Just hopped over and burned up the other vehicles?

I thought about that but discarded the idea because unless they were very close, that’s not too likely.

[Zeitghost]

87. They were parked right next to each other in a nice row

Have you seen the pictures upthread of the cars involved or the numerous other parking lot fires?

Why would it be unlikely for a fire that was allowed to burn uncontrolled long enough to melt the entire front end of a large SUV to create enough flames and heat to cause the car parked 2 feet away to also burn?

[Bev54]

17. My first reaction was, were they Teslas? But not so can rule that out.

[OAITW r.2.0]

19. I wonder is the Expedition Battery was sealed lead acid or Lithium Ion?

That looks like one hell of a battery fire.

[Effete Snob]

23. It's a general underhood fire

The problem is not the battery per se, but a circuit board that is prone to causing a high current short.

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-recalls-defects/ford-expedition-and-lincoln-navigator-recalled-for-fire-risk-a1081224865/

[Hermit-The-Prog]

61. FORD AND HERTZ CONSPIRE TO BURN THE TOP OFF GOVERNMENT!

Thanks for all the work you did up-thread. You may have headed off some trips into the wilderness.

Besides, we all know it was MTG trying to get that pasty-looking turkey finally done enough to eat.

[Effete Snob]

64. Well, you see it was a "FORD EXPEDITION"

FORD was the first president of the US that nobody voted for.

Biden was on an EXPEDITION to Nantucket.

It was sent as a warning that someone knows that the election was stolen and nobody actually voted for Biden.

In fact, as many know, Trump is still president and Joe Biden was actually placed under house arrest quite a long time ago. He had not cleared this trip with Trump, and so it was a way of sending the "unelected president" a warning about going on "expeditions" without permission.

It's pretty simple, once you know what is REALLY going on.

[Meadowoak]

73. Well, Henry Ford did aid the Nazis.

[Effete Snob]

80. And Heinrich Hertz was German

[Kennah]

27. Helluva fucking coincidence, and I don't believe in coincidence

[Zeitghost]

77. Which coincidence are you reffering to?

That a vehicle under recall for starting fires started a fire? Or that the cars parked directly next to it then also caught fire?

[Kennah]

79. I'm thinking this was intentional. Some RWAH carrying out an attack on the President.

1 car, fine. But 5?

[Zeitghost]

81. So many holes in that "theory"

1. Car fires are easy to walk away from. So not really a good way to hurt someone
2. The President was nowhere near these cars. He doesn't ride in run of the mill Hertz rentals they pick up at the airport, these cars were for staff.
3. The car with the most damage, which is where the fire presumably started, is under recall for... starting fires.
4. It happened a day after they were returned.
5. The other 4 cars were parked right next to the car that started the whole mess.



Do you see how the above facts might make wild, unfounded conspiracy theories trying to frame this as an attack on Pres. Biden appear to be QANON level quackery?

[Effete Snob]

82. How about EIGHT

When a car catches fire in a parking lot due to an underhood electrical problem, it burns really hot because it has a lot of combustible fuel in it. The neighboring cars then catch fire.

How do you explain the EIGHT cars burned in the Carowinds amusment parking lot fire, pictured above?

Newark Airport:



3500 CARS IN A FLORIDA AIRPORT RENTAL LOT:



Here's the story on that one:

https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/04/06/fl-rental-car-lot-fire-orig-vstop-bdk.cnn

Fire near airport burns over 3,500 rental cars

But if it was five cars, then it was intentional?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

40. Joe rented a car on Nantucket

He filled the gas tank from a bucket.
The media claims
that it went up in flames.
Now the insurance company will chuck it.

I hope they didn't burn the turkey.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

57. Extra credit for this response. NT

[tazkcmo]

60. JFK, Jr. did it.

It's sooooo obvious.







Sarcasm

[KY_EnviroGuy]

65. The cars were obviously Republicans.

Their cylinder heads exploded and caught fire after meeting the greatest and most honest political leader in the world.

Joe has a way about him that gets wingnut heads spinning around 100 rpm.


From our point of view, just five less fake ReThuglican votes......

[Meowmee]

66. These new cars aren't really that safe

These new cars aren’t really that safe… problems with the batteries so it seems. From what ES posted above anyway. I also found out recently that if you buy a fully electric car or maybe even a hybrid you have to replace the battery in about 5 to 10 years which cost thousands of dollars maybe like eight to $10,000. That is really not something that I can afford to do. I have driven the same car for almost 15 years now. although there were repairs and maintenance mostly it has not cost me anything like that. And I don’t drive very much so I’m not using a lot of gas or creating a lot of carbon etc.

[Takket]

72. update... there is NO PROOF the battery started the fire

NO PROOF it did not either, they simply don't know.

I'm sure the MAGAts will say Biden was eating children in the car and had to burn it to destroy the evidence.

Link to tweet

?s=20&t=wVcthH0-Y_vpdiyLxhCePA

[Effete Snob]

74. That's right

So, you have two choices:

1. A car which is under recall for an electrical problem that will start a fire when left unattended, caught fire when it was left unattended due to the known defect which causes exactly that to happen.

or

2. A device of some kind was rigged to the engine to cause it to ignite a day after Biden and everyone else left town in order to... do something?

When I hear hoofbeats, I usually think horses instead of zebras.

Some things are never known with absolute precision. But the crowd at the racetrack picks the winner 1/3 of the time.