Biohazard Letter Sent Out By Mistake After Postal Truck Fire: USPS

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — After a postal delivery vehicle caught fire in St. Petersburg earlier this month, a letter was mistakenly sent to some residents about the mail being exposed to biohazardous material, a United States Post Office representative said..

When the mail vehicle caught fire on Nov. 15, the mail carrier was uninjured, Lecia Hall, a USPS Strategic Communications Specialist, told Patch.

Some mail and packages were determined to be undeliverable and “not salvageable,” she said.

Hall said that the fire happened at 2110 17th Avenue E, though St. Petersburg police told Patch that no such address exists in the city.

Though some customers along the route received a letter that biohazardous material was involved in the crash, this “note was sent in error and should be disregarded,” Hall said.

“While we make every effort to salvage mail, unfortunately the accident exposed mail to biohazardous material that makes it undeliverable,” Felix Marasigan, USPS customer service supervisor, wrote in an undated letter folded up without an envelope and delivered to some residents along the vehicle’s route. “If you were expecting mail, we encourage you to contact the sender. They may be able to reissue and resent the mail piece.”

An Historic Kenwood resident shared a copy of the letter with Patch.

Hall added, “There was no evidence of any biohazards in this incident, which remains under investigation. Customers with items due for delivery will receive additional information directly from the Postal Service.”