We had fires near Bridgewater when I was about 8 on 2 fronts that sprang up quickly and changed directions.
It was very frightening, we seemed to only just make it out in time as the fires bore down so fast, the wind changed again and the main front turned on what it had already consumed and our house was spared. It was burnt before that and before I was born.
Several firemen from our town were burnt to death though and the wild one Johnny O'Keefe almost got caught as he was with his future Brother-in-Law volunteer fire fighting, they sheltered in a river as the fire went over.