Investigators now say the fire that extensively damaged a Navy submarine at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard was intentionally set. Casey James Fury, 24 of Portsmouth, has been charged with setting that fire, and another smaller fire on the sub.If guilty, throw the book at him. While many shipyard workers are very dedicated, there were always a lot of dodgy characters working as painter/cleaners in the shipyard, but this is the worst example I've seen. What are some of your memories of some sketchy sand crabs you've worked with?
Naval investigators say Fury was working as a painter and sandblaster aboard the USS Miami. They say he confessed to setting the May 23 fire that caused 400 million dollars damage to the sub.
Court documents show that Fury told investigators he suffers from anxiety and takes medication for it. He said the day of the fire, he was working in the torpedo room when his anxiety started getting "really bad". He went to a state room for a cigarette break, saw a bag of rags on the bunk and set them on fire.
Bell-ringer 1050 23 July: Here's an article with much more information from Seacoast Online, which has been providing the best reporting since the story started. It looks like they zero'd in on Fury after a 2nd fire was started in the shipyard on June 16th. Here's a copy of the criminal complaint filed by the NCIS Agent in charge.
