User Reviews

"Steel Inferno" is a made-for-TV movie - the first of 6, made after the Saturday night TV series "Emergency" ended it's original run in 1978.

This is a very well-made "movie", likely based, in part, on "The Towering Inferno".

However, Steel Inferno focuses more on the fire department's efforts to fight the fire & rescue victims...whereas "Towering Inferno" focuses much more on the personal dramas of the civilians.

Without giving away any key plot points, fans of the "Emergency" TV series may be disappointed not to see Engine 51 in the movie. However, we see plenty of Squad 51 (Roy & Johnny), as well as the Rampart Emergency staff (Dr. Brackett, Dixie McCall and Dr. Joe Early).

Steel Inferno contains lots of fire-fighting and rescue action that is very realistic (some of which looks like it may have been filmed during an actual fire).

This is the first of the "Made for television" Emergency! movies, after the series ended due to cost over-runs.

We see all of the regulars, except for Engine 51, and Dr. Mike Morton.

The fire takes place in an office building during work hours.

Actually, the fire is realistic, as are the fire-fighting sequences.

Overall, the acting is a little on the corny side, but then again, who watches for good acting?

The effects are terrific. I consider this to be the best of made for television specials, although some viewers might like the follow-up (involving the crash of a charter plane) to be more intense once the crash happens.

This is actually a more realistic version of "The Towering Inferno" (on a smaller scale, minus the over-the-top action).

This is surprisingly BETTER than Towering Inferno in some ways!

This is due to better & more fire-fighting action. Watch the DVD version if you can. The television version (Cozi TV) edits out some good stuff, like Engine 110 responding, and its Captain radioing the initial "incident size-up" to the dispatcher.

I don't know why, but the writer(s) made Johnny very whinny. It got to be annoying at times. There was no good reason for it. And you'll see Linda Grey (just as Dallas was getting started). She plays a corporate executive, who when the fire breaks out near her office is utterly useless, and has to depend upon her secretary (Anne Lockhart, daughter of June Lockhart) to keep a clear head and stave off the fire in their office.

While some of the acting is a bit over-the-top and hammy (not unusual for made-for-tv movies of the day), the firefighting action is unusually excellent - the best part of the whole episode. Probably the best fire-fighting action seen in the entire series (really).

Given how much time Squad 110 gets on camera, you wonder if the studio was trying to use Steel Inferno as a spin-off for a new series using new cast members.

Overall, and especially for an "Emergency! special", this is VERY entertaining!