Fire alarm interrupts Romney in Iowa

Mitt Romney's return to Des Moines, Iowa today was disrupted not by a heckler, but by an persistent fire alarm. Speaking at the Greater Des Moines Partnership's Presidential Forum Speaker Series, the fire alarm at the state Historical building went off not once, but three times, disrupting the former Massachusetts Governor's question and answer session.

"I wasn't trying to get out of tough questions, I promise," he joked before pausing to wait for the alarm to stop the first time.

Once stopped, he took another question but the alarm rang again. He asked if someone knew what the situation was before continuing with an answer.

As the alarm rang again, he seemed hesitant to continue. "I believe in safety first," he said.

And as the alarm went off a third time, he said, "discretion is the better part of valor" and abruptly ended the remarks, promising to shake hands and take pictures outside with everyone in the audience. He did linger a bit in the room to shake hands until an announcement from the fire department for everyone to leave the building. Romney and his loyal audience did just that and the handshaking continued outside.

The alarm wasn't some sort of prank by a Romney opponent, but was due to a burned bag of microwave popcorn, according to O. Kay Henderson, the news director for Radio Iowa.