I have noticed a very disturbing thing in the last few years. LLV fires – Lots of them.. The aging fleet seems to be becoming a huge problem in regards to the safety of mail carriers. I looked at only the last year or so and specifically for LLV -Postal owned vehicle fires and it really is scary how many of these vehicles catch on fire while mail is being delivered.
Is the current LLV fleet too old and worn out? What is causing these fires? An important note is that in many instances of these fires, the carrier saves the mail.
It is certainly something that really needs to be taken seriously. With this many catching on fire, there is a problem somewhere that needs to be addressed. The safety of these vehicles need to be a top priority of the Postal Service, even in times of financial distress.
Postal employee Brad Yonan was trying to restart his postal vehicle when it caught fire as he delivered mail Tuesday to a home on North Via Avellana, in the Catalina Foothills. Yonan wasn’t injured in the blaze, which was put out by Rural/Metro.
Photo credit: DAVID SANDERS / ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Hundreds of pieces of mail burn when postal truck catches fire – July 2012
USPS truck catches fire; some mail destroyed – December 2012Mail Truck Destroyed by Fire –
April 2012US Mail Truck Catches Fire in Kanawha County – July 2012
Hot mail? Fire consumes postal delivery truck – June 2012
Postal truck fire – July 2012
Postal Truck Catches Fire on Interstate 4 – May 2012USPS News Link Story – Arizona letter carrier survives LLV fire – August 2012
According to police, the fire started in the truck’s engine and then consumed the vehicle. There was no mail on the truck at the time. No one was hurt.
Keep in mind, these are just the LLV fires in the last year, and the results are the same for previous years going back several years. This is a problem no one really talks about but it really needs to be looked at. The safety of mail carriers being sent out in these aging vehicles every day should be very high on the Postal Service’s priority list, even amidst the financial problems the USPS is currently in the middle of. Safety should NOT be involved in any cost cutting measures. Lives depend on having a safe vehicle to get the job done. Let’s hope someone, somewhere in the upper echelon of the Postal Service realizes it is something that should be looked at.