He could have faked an illness or said there was a family emergency. Instead, 24-year-old Casey James Fury set this fire on board the U.S.S. Miami attack submarine, all because he wanted to leave work early.
At approximately 5:30 p.m., he went up to the stateroom area at mid-level, and he set some rags on a bunk on fire with a lighter, and then returned to paint stripping in the torpedo room area. Fury waited for the alarm to go off, then left the ship with the 50 other civilian workers on board. But first responders inside the sub risked their lives fighting this incredibly hot fire.
There were physical and emotional injuries to five first responders who risked their lives going into what had to be the equivalent of a roaring blast furnace. It took firefighters until the next day to get the fire out. The cost to repair the sub is an estimated $450,000 million.
Casey James Fury might very well have gotten away with it. But a month later, he set a second fire on the dock below the submarine for the exact same reason to once again leave work early. That fire didn't do much damage, but it did lead investigators straight to Fury. They determined that Mr. Fury was working in the areas of both fires at the time of origin.
For the two arsons, Casey James Fury will likely spend the next 15 to 19 years behind bars. In addition to the prison sentence, Fury could face fines up to $400 million toward the cost of repairing the U.S.S. Miami. He'll also have to pay restitution to the five first responders injured in the fire.
The submarine was at the Portsouth Naval Shipyard for an overhaul at the time of the fire, but because of the extensive repairs now needed, the sub will be out of commission until April 2015.
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