Photo:Elizabeth Dinan/www.seacoastonline.com
We apologize to industrial vacuum cleaners. (They may not be the national security threat we once thought.) In a previous post we repeated a statement by the Federal investigators that the fire on the nuclear submarine USS Miami, undergoing repairs in the Portsmouth Naval shipyard was caused by an industrial vacuum cleaner.
Yesterday, Casey James Fury, a 24 year old shipyard painter and sandblaster, was charged with arson for setting the May 23rd fire, which did $400 million damage to the submarine. He is reported to have said that he set the fire so that he could get off work early. He admitted to using a cigarette lighter to ignite a vacuum cleaner and a pile of rags on the submarine. Fury is also charged with setting a second fire in June in the dry dock next to the USS Miami. Fury was said to be taking a variety of medications for anxiety, depression, allergies and insomnia at the time of the first fire. If convicted on either charge, Fury could face life in prison. The Navy has not yet determined whether it will repair or scrap the $900 million USS Miami. Thanks to Alaric Bond and Irwin Bryan for contributing to the post.