Frontline report - in the firing line

A camera sat on it's tripod pointing towards a school playground and an overly made up woman in a designer jacket but cheap jeans fussed with her hair, the weather and wind were playing merry hell with her intricately styled natural look. Once satisfied she checked the viewfinder one last time to make absolutely sure the broken doors were present on the left of the screen before taking her place dominating the view on the right.

“Dramatic scenes at Westmount School today as three masked raiders smashed their way into the building behind me. We understand that they have taken a class hostage and are vandalising the corridors and classes. We were hoping to bring you a live interview with one of the men responsible as he was calling demands out of a classroom window only moments ago. But, wait….” the reporter turned towards the school then back at the camera. “Yes, I think, smoke, yes smoke coming over the roof, I think it's the back of the school and it looks grey. What is that, is it getting darker? I think there is a glow over that side.”

A voice spoke into her ear and the reporter cupped her hand there to capture the words.

“I will give a live commentary of the situation here as it develops and I don’t know if you can hear this at home but I can hear sirens and I assume they are the police responding to the school we will be watching as they undertake the negotiations in these the tricky early stages. No, I do believe now it is a fire engine, yes there it is a fire engine charging down the main street commanding the roads and flying to extinguish the deflagration currently taking hold in the school only a short distance behind me.” The reporter played with her hair getting the strands that were collected in the wind back into place. She smiled and wished she could check her makeup again. “The firemen will be here heroically fighting the blaze and rescuing everyone inside in front of the camera, and viewers we will be watching it live as the story develops here on Prime Time News with me Sara Panel.” she pronounced her name with a flourish stretching the surname to sound Pan-nell. More unheard words were spoken directly into her ear and Sara acknowledged with a nod of her head then disappeared off camera which wobbled for a moment then the viewfinder showed motion as it rushed around the building to show in greater clarity the flames licking through cracked glass and smoke rolling from under the eaves and across the gutter line. The wide screen camera picked up the length of the school from the West corner across the campus to the kitchens and stores on the East point. A long high chain link fence separated the educational buildings from the functional.

“Yes I do believe the library is burning and here, here are the firefighters. You can see their red engine and the hose they are running out.”

Water poured from the hose held by one firefighter and another two rushed past with door breaking equipment and a heavy red universal key whose flat end, when used correctly, could impart several tonnes of kinetic force onto whatever surface it’s placed. They located a door close to the fire and swung the enforcer tool against the wood which crashed inwards. Two more firefighters wearing breathing apparatus moved swiftly through the door cooling the escaping gases above their heads as they progressed into the building.

“Oh my, they have entered the building to fight the fire but without any officers of the law in attendance they don’t know the events that have happened prior to their arrival. Somewhere within this building are at least three known lawbreakers and an unknown number of children and teachers. Will they be able to rescue the terrified children from the choking clouds of smoke that must now be spreading through their classrooms like tentacles from a deadly octopus to suffocate them where they hide. Once this gentle building was a place of safety and security but now must represent very opposite of that turning it into a nightmare of unimaginable proportions. I can only imagine what suffering they must be going through right now. My heart and I’m sure yours too at home go out to them and their parents.”

Police vehicles drew to a stop and the camera turned to watch as the responding officers rushed to the white helmeted firefighter and an animated conversation happened briefly but informatively. The animation continued as the police ran away to survey the scene as the fire commander shouted into his radio. More fire appliances were arriving and water was got to work against the flames now spreading into the roof spaces. Cordons were being run out by police and two firefighters, the thin plastic tape separating the sanity of the modern world from the chaos of swirling smoke and lawlessness.

The reporter tried to get back in front of the camera but with the action unfolding across the panorama of the camera lense she was told to remain firmly behind it and stay quiet as the anchors narrate from the studio. The fire was going out, the huge quantities of water pouring through the completely failed windows had a positive effect and the smoke was failing.

“Still no sign of the firefighting BA team.” Sara heard through her earpiece and her comments in reply would not be broadcastable before any moderate watershed or to young audiences but the gist was this was her story and no way was she letting Ana with the fake tits get any credit for it.

“This is Sara Panel reporting and there is some activity coming from the far side.” her voice carried strong with a show of the amusement she was getting from this.

A scream sounded and a stream of children ran out of the kitchen fire exit and into a high fenced area which held gas cylinders was separated for safety from the school playgrounds. A firefighter wearing his breathing apparatus set but minus the mask and his helmet pulled the door closed behind him and wedged it with a long tool. The children had started to scale the fence but the closeness of the links and the height frustrated their attempts. The firefighter took hold of the closet child and threw him up to the top of the fence where he fell to the floor and ran off. More children were thrown over the fence and another firefighter made aware of the rescues ran to help, he took hold of each child as they were flung over. The team worked until the last child was heaved over the fence into the arms of the awaiting firefighter. Then the fire exit broke open and two balaclava wearing thugs erupted through wielding bats which they brought down time and time again on the firefighter trapped behind the fence.

Viewers to the news did not witness what happened next as the channel producers pulled the live feed.
“Back to the studio for the weather.”