News of the Weird

Published 6:00 am Saturday, March 13, 2021

Remains of Cold War-era Russian sub seen in film catch fire

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The remains of a Cold War-era Russian submarine once seen in a movie starring Harrison Ford caught fire in Providence on Tuesday morning, March 9, as workers were using a blowtorch to cut it up for scrap, fire officials said.

The fire at a waterfront scrap yard sent a plume of black smoke over the city at about 9:30 a.m. but was quickly extinguished. No one was hurt.

The hull is sheathed in a 3- to 4-inch layer of rubber and that’s what caught fire as workers cut into it with a torch, Providence Deputy Assistant Fire Chief Steve Capracotta said.

After the Cold War, the submarine known as Juliett 484 was sold and used as a restaurant and vodka bar in Helsinki, Finland, and as a set for the 2002 Ford movie “K-19: The Widowmaker.”

The sub wound up in Providence because the Rhode Island-based USS Saratoga Museum Foundation bought it and opened it to the public as a floating museum in 2002.

It sank during a nor’easter in 2007 and was sold for scrap.

State environmental officials have been informed of the fire, Capracotta said.

Oregon man arrested for shooting at hallucinations

SALEM — The police bulletin, all in uppercase, carried this headline Wednesday, March 10: MAN ARRESTED FOR SHOOTING AT HALLUCINATIONS.

Officers in Salem on Tuesday afternoon responded to reports of a man shooting a gun in the backyard of a residence. The man then drove away. Officers located the vehicle and detained the man, Martin Abrego, 27, of Salem.

Police said they noticed the smell of natural gas, cordoned off the area and summoned the fire department. Gas to the home was turned off. It turned out that one of the bullets hit the home’s natural gas meter. No one was hurt.

Detectives said Abrego was possibly under the influence of narcotics and was hallucinating. He believed he was being attacked and shot at the hallucinations, police said.

Abrego was taken to a hospital for treatment of his condition and was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and reckless endangering. It was unclear if he had a lawyer.

There were no drug charges. Personal-use amounts of drugs this year became legal in Oregon.

As of Feb. 1, police in Oregon no longer can arrest someone for possession of small amounts of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, oxycodone and other drugs. That’s when a ballot measure that decriminalized them took effect.

Instead, those found in possession face a $100 fine or a health assessment that could lead to addiction counseling.

Addiction recovery centers must be available by Oct. 1.