Faith in the Flames derived inspiration from the life of a real-life nurse, Nichole Jolly, who found herself stuck in the 2018 Camp Fire that caused widespread destruction in California. This is a story of reverence of responsibility and of being so dedicated that the prospect of death becomes secondary to the tasks at hand. Life often does not give second chances, but when our protagonist got one, her perspective towards life shifted altogether. So let’s find out what happens in the film and how Nichole Jolly and her family survived the devastating forest fire.
Spoiler Alert
What problems did Nichole’s family have with her?
It didn’t take long for the film to establish the fact that Nichole’s family, i.e., her husband, Nick, and her two boys, Logan and Jordan, were not really happy with her. Nichole worked as a nurse at the Lassen River Hospital, and she just couldn’t spare any time for the family. She couldn’t attend most of the school events of her kids, and there came a time when even Nick felt irritated by her behavior. Even when Nichole was at home, her mind was at the hospital. If you ask me personally, I don’t think that Nick and the kids were in the wrong. Jordan really wanted his mother to attend his game, but he realized she wouldn’t be able to do that because she had a shift at the same time. It was Nichole’s birthday, and all she wanted was to be in her own company and not do anything else. I am not criticizing Nichole, but I am just trying to say that her family had a valid point. After Jordan got to know that Nichole wouldn’t be at his game, he got really mad at her and went to school without saying a word to her. The moment Nichole reached the hospital, we came to know why she was like that. For Nichole, her sense of duty prevailed over everything else. She didn’t take breaks, she didn’t eat, she didn’t rest, and continuously she tended to all the patients in the hospital. The other nurses, Nichole’s colleagues, had to literally force her to take a breather at times. Nichole probably knew all those things about herself, but her conscience just didn’t allow her to act in any other manner. I believe that there are two kinds of people in this world: those who like celebrating their birthdays, and people like me, who are absolutely terrified by the idea of 10 people standing around making them cut a cake. Nichole obviously belonged to the second category, which was why she became so awkward when Karen and the other nurses called her for the little celebration they had planned for her birthday. Nichole went about her business as usual, and she had no clue that her life was going to completely change that day.
How did Nichole get stuck in the fire?
There was a forest fire about 9 miles away from Paradise, California, where Nichole and her family stayed. The chances of the fire reaching their town were quite low, but the unthinkable happened. An evacuation order was issued by the city authorities, and everything escalated so quickly that Nichole didn’t have any time to really get a hold on things. Nichole, considering how devoted she was, decided that she wouldn’t leave the hospital premises until she had made sure that each and every patient was safely escorted outside. The patients were being shifted to a nearby hospital where Nichole’s mother worked. The idea was to safely escort them there before the fire reached town. A thick black cloud of smoke covered the entire town, and as a result, visibility became really poor. Nichole was on a call with her mother when she told her to inform Nick about everything. Nichole didn’t want to call Nick even at that hour, which spoke volumes about her devoted nature. I hate to put it this way, but while watching the film, I felt like Nichole very subconsciously took her family for granted. I mean, I agree people have different things going on in their minds at all times, and it was probably a result of that. But Nick was way too supportive, and I just felt that he didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. I get that you are a hardworking employee, but it doesn’t take much to give your loved ones what they want. In this case all he was asking for was some of her time, her attention, and at times he felt lonely. He felt as if even when he talked to his wife, she was mentally checked out.
Nichole finally left the hospital, but unfortunately she met with an accident. She called Nick, who was with their son, trying to find Nichole and save her. But Nick wasn’t allowed to enter the fire-affected area, and that’s when he called Nichole and asked her to leave her car and run from there. It was terribly hot outside, and Nichole, after walking for some time, fainted and fell on the ground.
Did Nichole and her family get reunited?
Nichole was luckily saved by one of her acquaintances, John, who happened to work at the fire department. He was on the same road, and he saw Nichole lying there. There was a moment when Nichole felt that she wouldn’t be able to survive, and she almost gave up. But fate had other plans, and that is how John arrived there and rescued her. John and Nichole, together with the other firefighters, were trying to cross the town border when an announcement was made that they would have to turn back and go to the hospital, as the road ahead was blocked. Nichole returned to her hospital, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she found out that her colleagues, her friends, were all safe and fine. The entire night, those nurses and doctors of the Lassen River Hospital kept looking after the patients, and they made sure that they were able to treat them all. A few lives were lost, and to see somebody meet such a horrific end was not very easy for hospital staff. Nichole didn’t know if she would ever be reunited with her family. The fact that she had an argument with her son early that morning kept bothering her. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if she never saw her son again. But fortunately Nichole met her sons and her husband the next morning. She hugged her son and apologized for making him feel bad.
In Faith in the Flames’ ending, Nichole told Nick that they had lost everything in the fire. Nick smiled at her and said that he had everything that he needed. That scene made us realize how we often give so much importance to things that do not matter in life. We fail to express gratitude towards those who really mean everything to us. Houses can be rebuilt, money can be earned, and machines can be replaced, but if you lose somebody, you can’t bring them back.
