The Navy’s $400 Million Vacuum Cleaner Repair Bill

Even the most prosaic of appliances can turn on their owners, the Navy revealed yesterday when it reported an errant vacuum cleaner caused a May 23 fire at the Portsmouth, N.H., Naval  Shipyard. The USS Miami attack submarine, under repair at the yard, was severely damaged in the incident.

Portsmouth officials said preliminary findings from an investigation indicate the fire started in a vacuum cleaner that was used to clean worksites at end of a shift and then left in an unoccupied space.

The Navy said the fire burned through the forward compartment of the submarine which includes crew living areas, command and control spaces and torpedo room. Miami's nuclear propulsion spaces were not affected by the fire, Portsmouth officials said.

The Navy estimated it will cost $400 million to repair the Miami -- a bill that indicates the service definitely needs to tighten up on its vacuum cleaner specifications.