A Civilian Sandblaster Set Fire to a Bag of Rags Aboard the Nuclear Attack Submarine USS Miami on May 23, 2012 Because He Wanted to Leave Work Early. It Burned for 10 Hours. Repairs Came to $700,000,000, the US Navy Scrapped the Submarine, and He Got 17 Years.

A Civilian Sandblaster Set Fire to a Bag of Rags Aboard the Nuclear Attack Submarine USS Miami on May 23, 2012 Because He Wanted to Leave Work Early. It Burned for 10 Hours. Repairs Came to $700,000,000, the US Navy Scrapped the Submarine, and He Got 17 Years.

Miami had arrived at Portsmouth on March 1, 2012 for a routine 20-month overhaul. The fire took the crew quarters, command and control, and the torpedo room. Around ten firefighters were hurt. The first repair estimate was $450 million and the Navy went to Congress for an additional $220 million; a fuller assessment put the real figure at $700 million, which would have meant cancelling work on other ships. She was decommissioned on March 27, 201…