Coincidence, sabotage, or stupidity? USSS rental vehicles catch fire.

[Brad Johnson]

Five USSS rental vehicles catch fire after Biden visit.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bidens-secret-service-rental-vehicles-burst-flames-left-nantucket-vacation

One is happenstance. Two could be chalked up as coincidence. Five? Something is hinky.

Given USSS's obsession with equipment security, I don't see sabotage. Someone might have had time and opportunity to rig something on one or two vehicles under their immediate control, but five? No way. My guess is some kind of additional USSS-specific equipment mounted to the vehicles either malfunctioned or, more likely, caused an electrical overload due to crappy installation/removal.

Brad

[HankB]

The five vehicles included a Chevy Suburban, Ford Explorer, Infiniti QX80, Ford Expedition, and a Jeep Gladiator.

An overload or careless install of USSS equipment caused five different vehicles from four different manufacturers to ignite? Unless the USSS equipment itself ignited, something seems to be very suspicious about this.

Wonder what equipment they have, and if they just plug in into the cigarette lighter socket, since these were rentals. (The USSS RENTS vehicles when they're protecting POTUS? That's a little surprising.) I'm not coming up with anything except radios, video gear, portable computers, and jammers. And I'd expect a fuse to pop before anything ignited.

[WLJ]

Coincidence, sabotage, or stupidity?

Considering it's the government can I pick all three?

[Brad Johnson]

(The USSS RENTS vehicles when they're protecting POTUS? That's a little surprising.)

Yeah, I had the same question.

Brad

[Ben]

It wasn't clear to me from the article if this was the POTUS protective detail. I think rentals there would be highly unusual.  Our aircrew got stuck going to some Clinton/Gore dog-faced pony show in Monterey in like 1998, and I remember when we flew in to the airport, there was already a staging aircraft there and black vehicles were rolling out the back.

Though I think depending on where, there are SS agents on scene up to a week beforehand doing prep stuff, so if there's no place close like a base where they can borrow a G ride, they probably rent vehicles the same as other gov employees do.

[RocketMan]

The vehicles were all parked close to each other in the rental return lot.  One likely caught fire for some reason and the fire spread to the adjacent vehicles.  Not an uncommon occurrence in crowded parking lots.

[DittoHead]

The vehicles we all parked close to each other in the rental return lot.  One likely caught fire for some reason and the fire spread to the adjacent vehicles.  Not an uncommon occurrence in crowded parking lots.

That's a simple and boring explanation though. 

[RocketMan]

That's a simple and boring explanation though. 

And not nearly as much fun.

[HankB]

And not nearly as much fun.

And it's JUST the sort of disinformation you'd expect in a cover up!   

[MechAg94]

Were the rentals just used to ferry USSS personnel who were traveling in for the detail?  I doubt they were used as part of the actual POTUS protection. 

[Fly320s]

Were the rentals just used to ferry USSS personnel who were traveling in for the detail?  I doubt they were used as part of the actual POTUS protection.

USSS always has a ton of agents hidden in the crowds and around the area.  Using generic rental vehicles lets them blend in better.

Many years ago I flew a commercial flight with 13 USSS agents on board.  Only three or four looked like cops.  Some looked like Joe Average and two of them looked like biker gang members.

[WLJ]

USSS always has a ton of agents hidden in the crowds and around the area.  Using generic rental vehicles lets them blend in better.

Many years ago I flew a commercial flight with 13 USSS agents on board.  Only three or four looked like cops.  Some looked like Joe Average and two of them looked like biker gang members.

Did by chance one of them have a buffalo horn hat?

[Fly320s]

I don't remember any hats like that, but it could have happened.  I do remember seeing all of the agents gathered together and thinking, "That guy is Secret Service?  He looks like he belongs on the most-wanted list."

[RoadKingLarry]

I don't remember any hats like that, but it could have happened.  I do remember seeing all of the agents gathered together and thinking, "That guy is Secret Service?  He looks like he belongs on the most-wanted list."

Of late I've begun to doubt that being on the most-wanted list is necessarily prohibitive of being on the government police payroll. 

[French G.]

I saw what I thought were rental vehicles ferrying Laura Bush once. Tahoes but pretty sure no government plates. Three of them on the interstate with state cops clearing traffic. Rear one had the back glass rolled down with a trunk monkey agent. I would assume with something belt fed. No chance of rentals for the actual pres. I have seen a few of those appearances and the helicopter and vehicle shell game is something else. Kinda like the time I thought I would visit HMX-1 because they fly the same helos I worked on. Yeah.... I didn't even slow down or look directly at the fence. The double fence with four man and one dog Marine patrols in between it with plenty of signage as to your impending death.

[Cliffh]

Maybe the owners didn't want to touch the cars after Biden's crew rode in them.