Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS Steam and smoke pour from the mail delivery truck that burst into flames on the Everett Turnpike Sunday morning. The driver escaped injury. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)

NASHUA – The driver of a small mail delivery truck was able to pull over and escape without injury Sunday, after the vehicle burst into flames on the Everett Turnpike.

Firefighters were called around 11:20 a.m. to the turnpike’s southbound lanes between exits 7 and 6, and upon arrival were greeted by substantial fire in the engine compartment and underneath the vehicle.

Crews manned a hoseline and succeeded in dousing the flames within minutes. They were able to recover the small number of items aboard the truck, which were undamaged by the fire.

The travel lane was closed for about 30 minutes as firefighters finished extinguishing hot spots, and to allow a crew from D&R Towing to load the remains of the truck onto their flatbed.

The incident was the second time within a year that a mail delivery truck burst into flames on the turnpike.

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS Firefighters get ready to attack the flames engulfing a mail delivery truck Sunday morning on the Everett Turnpike. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)

Last March, the same type of truck caught fire near Exit 4 and was likewise destroyed. That driver also escaped injury.

-Jeffrey Hastings

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS Firefighters put the finishing touches on the fire that destroyed a mail delivery truck Sunday morning on the Everett Turnpike. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)