Michael D. Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was among those forced to flee his home by the Olde Stage Road Fire.

Brown’s home north of Boulder was spared, but he and his wife, Tamarra, spent Wednesday night at a friend’s rental apartment in nearby Longmont. Brown said he took a “go kit” stuffed with medication and cash – something he kept handy during his FEMA tenure when he was called out on disasters.

Brown said he was working in his home office Wednesday when his Saint Bernard, Bogart, started barking at a sheriff’s deputy in his driveway. The deputy told him he had to leave.

“To me it was, ‘It’s all automatic,'” Brown told The Associated Press. “No question in my mind. I didn’t ask how far the fire was. They said it was mandatory.”

“I’ve seen these wildfires sprint in Montana and other places and it’s just not worth it. I just grabbed my dogs and said let’s go.”

Brown watched firefighters battle the blaze about a half-mile from his home.

“We never think of the fact that something like this can happen,” Brown said. “One minute I’m sitting in my office and the next there is a deputy in my driveway telling me I have to leave.

“This kind of stuff can happen any time, anywhere.”

President George W. Bush appointed Brown to head FEMA in 2003. Brown was heavily criticized for FEMA’s response to Hurricane Katrina and resigned afterward. He was ridiculed after Bush publicly praised him, saying he did a “a heck of a job,” while thousands desperately waited for help.

Brown has worked as a consultant since leaving FEMA.