Anchored by employees determined to look beyond a fire Friday that destroyed their main office on 12th Avenue, the Postal Service set up shop under a white tent in its parking lot, where post office box customers picked up their mail.

A charred landscape, twisted tin and a heap of rubble were evidence of last week's devastating fire that began at a neighboring development and consumed five surrounding blocks. Buoyed by postal employees who worked on their day off Sunday setting up the temporary site, however, business continued as usual Monday.

"It was pretty smooth," said customer Gwen Beam, who expected some confusion and a congested setting but was able to pick up her mail without waiting.

Fifteen-year Postal Service employee Frank Ramos was one of more than 10 workers who converged on the site Sunday to prepare the makeshift post office.

"Short of a family emergency, we were going to be here," said Ramos, who along with other employees lost personal and work items, ranging from reading glasses to rain gear, in the fire. "You think of what you'd have in your office, and it's inside there."

By late Monday, the post office was scheduled to have a doublewide trailer set up on the north end of its parking lot near Interstate 4, said Bridget Robertson, customer relations coordinator for the Postal Service. The plan is to outfit the trailer with post office boxes and open it later this week so customers can get mail on their own.

Eventually, postal officials would like to rebuild the office - which opened in 1988 - on the same site at 1900 E. 12th Ave., Robertson said. But first they must learn how the Florida Department of Transportation's plans for widening I-4 might affect their wish.

"Ideally, we'd like to stay right here," said Robertson, who didn't have a target date for when a new office might be built. "We wouldn't be building something that didn't really blend in with the flavor of Ybor."

Robertson didn't have an estimate of the damage to the building, which is slated to be demolished this week, or know how much mail was lost.

About 200,000 parcels of mail pass through that post office each day, Robertson said. On Monday, salvaged water-warped and smoke- stained mail was being cleaned and dried out on a row of square wooden racks with wire-mesh bellies.

"I'm surprised at the amount of mail they're finding in there," Robertson said. "It's quite a lot."