The incident happened Wed 9/15/2010. I had no knowledge of this happening until Friday 9/17/2010 when Mr. Snead came into my office with a card and a box. He told me he wanted to proclaim his gratitude to the heroic mail lady who saved his truck from burning.
Since I was not told of the incident, I wondered if it was one of my carriers. He told me where the incident happened so I had to wait until Monday to investigate as that carrier was off that day. Yes, she admitted she was the one. Here is the story. She was on Highway 431 when she noticed smoke coming from a truck beside the Highway. She turned around and saw a man frantically fumbling with his cell phone to call 911.
The alert carrier stopped, turned off her engine and whipped out her fire extinguisher as by now, flames had begun to swell. Mr. Snead told me he grabbed the Extinguisher, but could not get it to engage right away. The flames were getting larger, so Ms Keller feared the vehicle would blow up, so she advised Mr. Snead to retreat. Ms Keller got back in her jeep to get the mail out of harm's way but noticed the extinguisher was working as Mr. Snead was busy battling the flames.
She soon forgot the excitement as she continued to focus on her rural route where she serves 805 customers daily. Mr. Snead did not forget. On that Friday he told me many men slowed and looked, but no one stopped to help him, until the quick thinking Postal Lady. He asked me to give the carrier the gift and card.
On Monday after the tale was regaled to all, she opened the box which was a new fire extinguisher and read the card which said" Thank you is such a simple phrase, but it says so much in so many ways." Mr. Snead had written inside, " Thank you for taking the time to help me. I would have completely lost my truck if you had not stopped. The oil change and replacement fire extinguisher are tokens of my appreciation." Mr. Snead owns and operates S&S Service Center.
I am very proud of my employees at New Hope where courtesy, respect and going the extra mile is a common daily experience. They make my job easy. I wonder every day if I would have the presence of mind to react quickly in dangerous situation, so I commend Mrs. Keller for her fast action.
Jenia has been a rural carrier for 18 years, and during that time has remained accident free. Her focus on safety is evident: she has kept herself and now a customer out of harm's way, and as a side note, has probably helped the Postal Service's reputation and business in her area.
Thanks, Jenia, for setting the bar high, and to Marianne as well for sharing this story with us.
