Truck fire destroys Elkhart County mail in Miami County late Wednesday

Feb. 23--ELKHART -- A semi-truck fire Wednesday evening in Miami County destroyed a significant amount of mail that was sent from Elkhart County, although the exact amount of mail destroyed is still up in the air.

An incident report says that around 9:30 p.m., a semi-truck contracted by the United States Postal Service to carry mail from Elkhart to Indianapolis caught fire on U.S. 31 near C.R. 1200 North, which is close to the small town of Macy. The report says the semi-truck and its cargo were "a total loss."

Miami County Sheriff Tim Miller disputed the amount of the damage done to the mail. He believes some contents of the truck were salvageable and said that U.S. Postal Service officials secured the scene of the accident.

No injuries were reported at the scene.

Mary Dando, U.S. Postal Service communications officer for the region, said that "a postal team is now looking at the contents of the truck."

"As the mail originated in Elkhart, it is confined to those customers in the Elkhart area who sent mail yesterday, Feb. 22," she said.

Officials from both the South Bend and Elkhart post offices were unavailable for comment.

Customers who shipped a piece of Priority Mail or Priority Express Mail generally have insurance for up to $50 or $100, respectively. To see if your mail was covered by insurance if you had not purchased some, you can go to www.usps.com/ship/insurance-extra-services

Dando said that any customers who believe they are affected by the incident should call the Elkhart Post Office at 574-293-5502.

Follow Ben Quiggle on Twitter @BenQuiggle

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