Key Points – In 2012, civilian shipyard worker Casey Fury set fire to the USS Miami, a Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, while it was in dry dock for repairs in Kittery, Maine.
-Fury, reportedly motivated by anxiety and a desire to leave work, started the blaze with rags, causing an estimated $450 million in damage to the submarine’s forward compartments, including the control center and torpedo room.
-While the nuclear reactor was unharmed and no one was killed, the US Navy ultimately decided against repairing the vessel due to budget cuts.
-The submarine was decommissioned in 2014, effectively taken out of service by one man’s act of arson.
The Story of How One Worker Took a US Submarine Out of Action
A fire is one of the worst things that can happen on any warship. Not only can it kill, wound, and maim sailors, but a blaze could ignite weapons and ammunition on board that would send a ship down to Davy Jones’ Locker with all hands lost. One of the first duties all enlisted sailors learn at basic training is how to fight fires. That’s why two arson incidents against an American nuclear submarine, the USS Miami, shocked the Navy and the Department of Defense.
More Details on the Violent Act
The act of arson happened on May 23, 2012, and caused $450 million in damage. A civilian shipyard worker pleaded guilty to the crime in 2013. Prosecutors alleged 25-year-old Casey Fury used rags to set fire to the USS Miami because he wanted to “go home.” The USS Miami was in dry dock at the time for 20 months. It needed repairs at the Portsmouth naval shipyard in Kittery, Maine, and this was the second month of work.
This bizarre action perplexed his civilian superiors and navy brass. It makes one wonder how Fury was able to cause that much damage and what was affecting his mental stability at the time of the incident. Fury received a 17-year sentence and was ordered to pay $400 million in restitution somehow. That is highly unlikely to be repaid ever.
What Was Going Through His Mind?
Fury’s back story was perplexing. He said he suffered from anxiety, stress from a romantic break-up, and homesickness. The convicted felon is from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Fury claimed he had no paid time off left and he had reached a boiling point.
This Is What He Did
The arsonist, who was a painter and sandblaster, placed some rags on a bunk in the submarine and lit them on fire. He believed that the blaze he sparked would not do that much damage, but it spread quickly around the submarine. It took 12 hours and at least 100 firefighters to extinguish the inferno. Seven people were wounded, and one broke his ribs, falling through a hatch.
He Just Let It Burn and Then Started Another Fire Later
Fury acted with cowardice and left the submarine and did nothing while it burned as the firefighters struggled to put out the flames.
This was not all. After the initial fire, Fury acted again with arson. He set another fire outside the sub three weeks later. Fury’s defense attorneys tried to make a long-shot defense. Since the accused was suffering from mental health issues, his arson should be excused because he did not mean to cause that much damage, the lawyers said.
Thankfully, the fire did not hurt the nuclear propulsion system. It was confined to the front of the sub, but it did damage the control center and torpedo room. The Navy worried about how this fire would affect the safety of the Miami in future deployments. The hull was later determined sea-worthy.
The USS Miami was a Los Angeles-class fast attack boat. If the arsonist wanted to take the submarine out of action permanently, he was successful. Due to budget cuts at the time of the fire, the Navy just decided not to repair the submarine. It was finally decommissioned in 2014.
Fury is now in prison at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Amazingly, one man could do all that damage. This makes you wonder just what was going through his mind during the two arson attempts. Everyone goes through mental health trials, but setting a submarine on fire is usually not the first thing a person thinks of doing when under extreme stress.
The Navy and its contractors may want to use this as a cautionary tale to make better mental health screening of its workers. Fury was a disturbed individual and not fit to work on any mechanical object – much less a nuclear submarine.
The question is why. He tried to explain the anxiety and homesickness part, but what would a fire accomplish? Did he think that this would stop work and then he could get a break? That must have been what was going through his head. The bizarre part was how he watched the first blaze from near the dock and then, amazingly, set another fire near the submarine again. He must have been a committed arsonist in his adolescence to get this idea.
Casey Fury will go down as one full-fledged villain in the US Navy. He single-handedly took out a nuclear submarine and showed that he was a coward. Seventeen years is not enough prison time, and he is lucky that no one died in the two fires he set.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for US Senator Tim Scott, advising the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former US Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
Fighter Jet Fails
Russia’s Su-57 Felon Stealth Fighter Is a Waste of Rubles
