An Emergency Services Operator in a Fire Control Room has just started a long night shift when she picks up a call from a desperate young mother. An hour previously, Gemma had fallen asleep in front of the television and has now woken to find the room full of smoke. Her three year old son is trapped in his bedroom upstairs. Flames have started to creep down the stairs that Gemma must use in order to reach him. The operator’s guidance is all that Gemma can rely on in order to survive.
Kate Dickie is on terrific form here in this tensely crafted short feature. She is ''Lorna'', an emergency co-ordinator for the fire service who responds to a 999 call from the panic-stricken ''Gemma''. Her home is on fire and her young son is trapped upstairs, and so having despatched the fire brigade, ''Lorna'' attempts to keep her caller calm and safe until assistance arrives. Of course, the mother isn't about to stay safely at the bottom of the stairs whilst her child is at risk, and so as the situation becomes even more perilous the lifeline of this telephone conversation becomes even more important. What will become of the family? Well the one thing for sure is that within moments of the conclusion of the call, ''Lorna'' is back on the phone with the next caller. This is very intensely photographed and using some sparing but effective audio effects, we really do get a sense of not just the fear of the potential victim but also of the investment of woman handling the call. The dialogue could well have been written by someone experienced in this field of rapid response operations, as it has a very human and real feel to it and this really is quite a compelling six minutes of cinema.
