By Ronnie Gallagher
rgallagher@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Philip Goodnight was making his usual rounds as a mail carrier this afternoon, but what happened next was anything but the usual.
With several residents of Chapel Court community looking on, his van caught fire and was destroyed.
The van stopped in front of the home of Mickey Chaffin, who said his next-door neighbor, McKenzie Overcash, first saw flames under the van and ran down to tell Goodnight. Chaffin then came from behind his house and watched the scene.
“We were at the pool and happened to see smoke,” Chaffin said. “I looked around and said, ‘The mailman’s car’s on fire!’ We really started seeing flames underneath it.”
Chaffin said the door panel caught fire on the other side and it just went up.
“The front end was totally engulfed,” Chaffin said. “It took less than a minute and the whole thing was in a blaze.”
No one was hurt in the fire, which happened today on Chapel Court Road near the intersection of Airport and Miller Chapel roads.