PDA

View Full Version : USS Miami catches fire



jamieooh
05-26-2012, 11:55 PM
Nuclear submarine, USS Miami, catches fire in Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; seven minor injuries reported
05/24/2012 2:52 PM
http://c.o0bc.com/rf/image_609w/Boston/2011-2020/2012/05/24/Boston.com/Metro/Images/CORRECTION%20Submarine%20Fire.JPEG-01dc6-1917.jpg
Smoke rose from the dry dock as firefighters responded to the fire on the USS Miami.

By Alli Knothe, Globe Correspondent

Firefighters battled for 12 hours to quell a fire inside a nuclear-powered US Navy submarine in the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, officials said today. Seven people, including five firefighters, sustained minor injuries.

“The fire spread to spaces within the submarine that were difficult to access. The heat and smoke contained in these confined spaces made it challenging for firefighters to combat the blaze,” Rear Admiral Rick Breckenridge, commander of the submarine group that includes the USS Miami, said today in a statement.

Officials vented smoke and noxious fumes from the vessel today so they could get inside to assess the damage, the Associated Press reported.

A fire department dispatcher said residents were not affected.

Breckenridge said the fire aboard the Miami was out by Thursday morning and the shipyard was open as usual. He said the injured were three shipyard firefighters, two civilian firefighters, and two crew members.

In a Wednesday night news conference, Bryant Fuller, commander of the shipyard, said the facility’s gates remained open.

“We are now moving forward with recovery actions,” Breckenridge said. “The shipyard remains open for normal business and the workforce will report to work as scheduled.”

The shipyard is located in the town of Kittery, Maine.

“The fire was located in the forward part of the ship,” Fuller said. “The ship’s reactor was not operating at the time and is in the other end of the ship and therefore not affected.’’

The vessel’s reactor has been shut down for more than 2 months, Breckenridge said. He did not explain why.

The AP also reported that the vessel has a crew of 13 and 120 enlisted personnel. It arrived at the shipyard on March 1 to undergo maintenance work.

Most of the destruction occurred in the crew’s living area, as well as command and control areas, Breckenridge said.

The fire began at about 5:40 p.m. Wednesday, he reported. Kittery Police Chief Paul Callaghan said it was not put out until 5:45 a.m. today.

Fuller said no weapons were on board.

According to the Navy’s Vessel Register, the vessel, which bears the hull number SSN-755, was commissioned in 1990, is 362 feet long, and is nuclear-powered.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.
Alli Knothe can be reached at aknothe@globe.com.
http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2012/05/24/seven-injured-when-nuclear-submarine-uss-miami-catches-fire-portsmouth-naval-shipyard/uF1TYBtPFSkWERLzPWNkrK/story.html

jamieooh
07-24-2012, 12:13 AM
PORTLAND, Maine – A civilian employee set a fire that caused $400 million in damage to a nuclear-powered submarine because he had anxiety and wanted to get out of work early, Navy investigators said in a complaint filed Monday.

Casey James Fury, 24, of Portsmouth, N.H., faces up to life in prison if convicted of two counts of arson in the fire aboard the USS Miami attack submarine while it was in dry dock May 23 and a second blaze outside the sub on June 16.

Fury was taking medications for anxiety and depression and told investigators he set the fires so he could get out of work, according a seven-page affidavit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Portland.

If convicted of either charge, Fury could face life imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 and be ordered to pay restitution, officials said. His federal public defender, David Beneman, declined to comment. A court appearance was set for Monday afternoon.

The Miami was in dry dock at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, for an overhaul when the fire damaged the torpedo room and command area inside the forward compartment. It took more than 12 hours to extinguish.

A second fire was reported June 16 on the dry dock cradle on which the Miami rests, but there was no damage and no injuries.

Fury, who was working on the sub as a painter and sandblaster, initially denied starting the fires but eventually acknowledged his involvement, the affidavit states.

He admitted setting the May 23 fire, which caused an estimated $400 million in damage, while taking a lie-detector test and being told by the examiner he wasn't being truthful.

Fury told Timothy Bailey, an agent for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, that "his anxiety started getting really bad," so he grabbed his cigarettes and a lighter, walked up to a bunk room and set fire to some rags on the top bunk.

The Navy originally said the fire started when an industrial vacuum cleaner sucked up a heat source that ignited debris inside.

Fury said he set the second fire after getting anxious over a text-message exchange with an ex-girlfriend about a man she had started seeing, according to the affidavit. He wanted to leave work early, so he took some alcohol wipes and set them on fire outside the submarine.

Fury said he initially lied about setting the fires "because he was scared and because everything was blurry to him and his memory was impacted due to his anxiety and the medication he was taking at the time," according to the affidavit.

Fury told NCIS agent Jeremy Gauthier that he was taking three medications for anxiety, depression and sleep, and a fourth for allergies. He checked himself into an in-patient mental health facility on June 21 and checked himself out two days later, the affidavit reads.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/23/civilian-worker-charged-with-arson-in-maine-navy-sub-fire/#ixzz21ViwG5LM

MadeInRu
07-24-2012, 12:24 AM
Hmmm.... Makes you wonder... Why do such people work on the multi-million, top secret hardware... I thought there should be some background check there...

jamieooh
07-24-2012, 08:19 AM
Hmmm.... Makes you wonder... Why do such people work on the multi-million, top secret hardware... I thought there should be some background check there...
Good point MIR. or someone making sure none of the workers went into other areas of the sub.