NEWPORT — It appears that the fire which took place at the post office in Newport over the weekend started inside the engine of one of the vehicles. According to a statement by Fire Chief Jaime LeClair, the fire did not appear to be suspicious, and was most likely related to an electrical issue.
It’s reported that at around 11:00 a.m. Saturday morning, the driver of the mail vehicle heard a popping noise coming from under the hood, and was alarmed when he saw smoke coming from the vehicle after starting the engine. The truck was located inside the loading area of the Coventry Street location.
In an attempt to contain the fire, the postal carrier used a fire extinguisher, but the blaze had quickly spread out of control.
By 11:30 a.m. the scene was cleared by the Newport City Fire Department. Only one package located in the back of the truck had burned, but the contents of that package were not destroyed. The same cannot be said of the truck, which suffered a total loss.
This wonderful image of the incident was taken by Kerry Keement, who took the photo and submitted it to Newport Dispatch’s Facebook wall on Saturday afternoon, just after the fire.
