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Diana Rus
Florida Man Set on Fire a Nuclear Submarine To Leave Work Early
2024-05-04
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A shipyard worker was sentenced to 17 years in prison for setting fire to rags onboard a nuclear submarine in Miami, Florida because he wanted to go home. The blaze turned the vessel into a flaming inferno, wounded seven people, and caused $450 million in damage.
USS Miami (SSN-755) was a United States Navy Los Angeles-class submarine. It was the third ship in the United States Navy to be named after Miami, Florida. Miami was the forty-fourth Los Angeles-class submarine to be built and commissioned, as well as the fifth Improved Los Angeles-class submarine.
The man set the submarine on fire
On May 23, 2012, at 5:41 p.m. EDT, fire firefighters were dispatched to Miami while it was being overhauled at the Portsmouth Navy Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. The submarine was in the second month of a 20-month maintenance cycle at the time, suggesting that it was undergoing a significant refit known as an "Engineering Overhaul."
Initially, the US Navy said that the fire started when an industrial vacuum cleaner used to clean worksites aboard the sub following shipyard employees' shifts sucked up a heat source, which ignited debris within the vacuum.
On May 23, 2012, at 5:41 p.m. EDT, fire firefighters were dispatched to Miami while it was being overhauled at the Portsmouth Navy Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. The submarine was in the second month of a 20-month maintenance cycle at the time, suggesting that it was undergoing a significant refit known as an "Engineering Overhaul."
Initially, the US Navy said that the fire started when an industrial vacuum cleaner used to clean worksites aboard the sub following shipyard employees' shifts sucked up a heat source, which ignited debris within the vacuum.
On July 23, 2012, civilian painter and sandblaster Casey J. Fury was charged with two counts of arson after admitting to starting the fire.
The civilian painter and sandblaster told authorities he needed to go home because he was having an anxiety attack and didn't have any more vacation or sick leave. When he used a lighter to set fire to a plastic bag of rags that he had placed on a bunk in a stateroom, he never expected such serious damage.
The fire swiftly escalated into an inferno, blasting superheated smoke through hatches.
According to the US Navy, seven people were injured.
Seven firefighters were hurt, according to national media reports. During the fire, one crew member fell through a hole caused by removed deck plates, breaking his ribs. It took 12 hours for more than 100 firefighters to save the submarine.
Fury, working in the torpedo room, ran to the dock and watched as firefighters climbed down hatches and into the burning Los Angeles class-attack submarine, remaining inside for barely minutes at a time due to the blistering heat.
Fury set a second fire outside the crippled submarine about three weeks later, for the same reason, because he has anxiety and wanted to go home. The fire did not do much damage. In November, he pled guilty to two charges of arson.
Authorities said it was significant that he attempted to start a second fire after the first one had caused so much damage.
The trial
The defense claims Fury suffered from anxiety and anxiety and never intended to harm anyone.
The initial fire destroyed compartments such as living quarters, a command and control center, and the torpedo room. It didn't make it to the back of the submarine, where the nuclear propulsion components are.
He was sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison and forced to pay $400 million in reparations on March 15, 2013.
The submarine was never repaired
On August 6, 2013, Navy officials announced that the vessel would not be repaired due to budget cuts. The submarine was decommissioned on March 28, 2014, after being put on the inactive list.
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