Worker who wanted to get out of work early caused more than £580 million worth of damage

A ship worker caused over £580 million ($69 million) in damage to a nuclear submarine that he was working on because he wanted to go home early.

In 2013, Casey James Fury worked as a painter and sandblaster on the USS Miami, when a fire broke out on the ship while it had been docked in Kittery, Maine.

Originally, US authorities thought the fire had initially started with an industrial vacuum cleaner, and that staff had accidentally ignited the debris inside.

Having caused nearly a billion dollars in damage, the US Navy employee eventually confess to his crimes and was arrested.

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At the time, the USS Miami had been undergoing an extensive refurbishment and additional shift workers had been hired to assist with the 20-month project.

However, it was later discovered though that Fury, 25, had caused the ensuing inferno - which raged for over 12 hours and left seven people injured.

Fury later confessed to arson, and said that he’d wanted to finish early but had no leave left.

He also told authorities at the time that he was suffering from an 'anxiety attack'.

The fire had started when Fury lit a bag of rags onboard the military vessel in the state room.

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After he fled the scene, the fire spread rapidly and caused significant damage to the nuclear submarine’s living quarters, control centre and torpedo room.

Naval firefighter Eric Hardy was amongst those that were injured after his colleague collapsed on top of him.

Upon hearing his fellow firefighter scream in agony, Hardy ended up saving his life by dragging them to safety via their air pack.

Incredibly, his team were also able to contain the fire and stopped it reaching the rear of the submarine, where nuclear propulsion components were kept.

Then, around three weeks later, Fury set a smaller fire because he again 'wanted to go home.' But luckily, that fire didn't cause too much damage.

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Fury later confessed to two counts of arson and was ordered to pay over $400 million in restitution, before being sentenced to 17 years in prison.

During his sentencing, he apologised for the incident: “From the bottom of my heart, I am truly sorry for what I’ve done. There was no intention of hurting everyone.

"I only wish I had found proper help for my problems before all this happened.”

It was little comfort for his victims though, with firefighter Eric Hardy later telling press that he ‘woke up in pain every day’ following the 12-hour fire.

As for USS Miami, the ship was initially set to be repaired but it was later decommissioned because of the damage that occurred onboard during the blaze.