A fire at WABC-TV, the New York City flagship station of ABC's television network, knocked the station off air for a short time on Sunday night.

It is understood that the fire started when an electrical outlet at the back of the station's news studio malfunctioned as preparations were being made for an 11pm local newscast. 50 people were evacuated as the fire quickly took hold.

"All of a sudden, it went boom and the whole thing, I looked at the back of the set, there must have been 10 to 15-foot flames flying up to the ceiling," a WABC cameraman reported.

The fire caused heavy damage to the news studio, which has been rendered unusable. The station was off air for two hours; however, a 5am newscast went out as scheduled from an alternate location. Live With Regis And Kelly, the nationally syndicated morning talk show hosted by Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa - which is originated by WABC - will use the set of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? while fire damage is cleaned up.