Sometime between 5 p.m. Monday, March 6, and 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 7, a fire was set in an outside drop box at the U.S. post office on Market Street in Athens.

Local officials believe someone put something in the box to start the fire. Officials also said “nothing was recovered.”

U.S. Postal Inspector and Federal Agent Tony Robinson of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said the Postal Service is offering up to $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the fire.

A reward can be set at up to $100,000 if officials believe an accelerant or explosive device was used because such items would put customers and employees at risk of bodily harm, Robinson said. At this point, however, that is not believed to be the case.

According to Robinson, officials at the Athens post office have cleaned the drop box. If any mail is left partially intact or is salvageable, the Postal Service will notify both senders and receivers of the damage.

“We take this very seriously,” Robinson said, adding he will be posting “reward flyers” in the area.

Anyone with information should call 877-876-2455 or visit https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/. Calls can be made anonymously, Robinson said.