A nuclear submarine worker caused over $690 million in damages because he wanted to go home early.

We have all ducked out of work before sending an email we said we'd do by COB; thankfully, an unsent email doesn't usually cost the company millions of dollars.

In 2013, Casey James Fury was employed as a painter and sandblaster on the USS Miami, which was undergoing refurbishment.

While the ship was docked in Kittery, Maine, a fire broke out and raged for over 12 hours, leaving seven people injured.

Originally, US authorities thought the fire had started with an industrial vacuum cleaner, and that staff had accidentally ignited the debris inside. However, it was later discovered that Fury had caused the inferno.

Why? Because no one wants to sit in peak hour traffic, that's why!

Fury later confessed to starting the fire by lighting a bag of rags onboard the military vessel in the stateroom and then fleeing the scene. He said that he had wanted to finish early but had no leave left and claimed that he was suffering from an 'anxiety attack.'

Fair to say Fury mustn't have been upset about his actions because just three weeks later, Fury set a smaller fire because he again 'wanted to go home,' but fortunately, that fire did not cause too much damage.

The fire caused significant damage to the nuclear submarine's living quarters, control centre, and torpedo room, but thankfully, naval firefighters were able to contain the fire and stop it from reaching the back of the ship where nuclear propulsion components were kept.

Fury confessed to two counts of arson and was sentenced to 17 years in prison. He was also ordered to pay over $400 million in restitution. During his sentencing, he apologized for the incident and said that he wished he had found proper help for his problems before the incident occurred.

Image: New York Times