Fire Alarms Interrupt NBC’s ‘Nightly News’

First Published: November 30, 2011 11:34 AM EST Credit: Getty Images

Caption Brian Williams speaks onstage at the NBC Universal ‘NBC News’ Q&A portion of the 2010 Winter TCA Tour day 2 at the Langham Hotel on January 10, 2010 in Pasadena, Calif.

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- 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.

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