Fire Strikes USS Higgins Destroyer in Asia Deployment

U.S. officials confirm major fire broke out on USS Higgins earlier this week. Fire knocked out electricity and propulsion on the destroyer, one of the officials told CBS News.

No injuries to U.S. service members reported as of Wednesday. Details on how the fire started and exact location not readily available. The Higgins was ported in Singapore as of February, according to AIS Marine vessel data.

Pentagon spokespeople referred questions about damage to INDOPACOM. The destroyer’s public affairs didn’t immediately comment.

Earlier this month, a small fire broke out on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, injuring eight U.S. Navy sailors. Separately, a fire in the laundry spaces aboard USS Gerald R. Ford injured two sailors. The Ford and its accompanying strike group are expected to leave the Middle East in the coming days.

The Higgins, homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, is part of the Navy’s forward deployed forces assigned to the 7th Fleet — key component of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, which oversees American military operations across more than half the globe.