'Deadly Inferno' is essentially "The Towering Inferno" on a smaller scale. In this filmed-in-Canada TV movie, a bumbling janitor (Ephraim Ellis) inadvertently puts into motion circumstances that will cause an office building to later explode into flames. (Unfortunately, he was also told by the big boss (Stephen Bogaert) to turn off the water when the sprinkler system developed a leak.) A hard-working executive (David Sutcliffe) tries to look out for his fellow employees, while a brave fireman, Ray (Michael Xavier), leads his colleagues in an attempt to rescue the people trapped inside.

The script by Christian A. V. Petrozza is largely routine, and includes cliched types of characters such as the unreliable dad, the expectant father in a high-risk profession, the boss who is a Jerk with a capital J, etc. The effects can be pretty cheesy at times, but the director (Brent Cote) and crew manage to create a moderate sense of danger and excitement, and keep things more or less watchable. One good thing is that the acting is actually mostly tolerable: Bogaert really makes you hate his character, and Sutcliffe and Xavier are likeable enough heroes. One suspect bit of casting: Charlotte Arnold is less than four years older than Zoe Belkin, the actress playing her daughter, and they practically look the same age anyway. Arnold is unfortunately required to make a nuisance of herself at the scene of the disaster while the fire chief (Michael Hanrahan) fumbles about outside.

All of this is handled with a reasonable amount of competence, even if the presentation is hardly inspired. Some unpredictability, including a bittersweet ending, helped this viewer raise his rating by a point.

Six out of 10.