Fire alarms interrupt NBC's newscast

[December 01, 2011]  NEW YORK (AP) -- NBC News anchor and former volunteer firefighter Brian Williams doesn't expect to hear alarms during his day job.

He did Tuesday night, when an audible fire alarm from a floor below the "Nightly News" studio in New York repeatedly interrupted the newscast.

Spokeswoman Erika Masonhall said Wednesday that it was a drill, but that technicians couldn't immediately turn off studio loudspeakers. "Nightly News" moved into a new studio a month ago.

Alarms went off twice as Williams read a story about American Airlines. He flashed a bemused smile the second time and said, "We should remind our viewers that there's no danger to us."

After the problem was fixed, Williams redid the broadcast for non-Eastern time zones.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.