"All of a sudden everything went dark, then there was a red fireball...everything just turned in a split second," he told ABC News. The flames took his crops within minutes, before turning their attention to the farmhouse. Maddocks felt "helpless" but cleverly turned on the sprinklers, keeping the danger at bay. "The fire came up all around my house but my ability to turn on irrigation systems from my phone in Darwin, and the fact that I had neighbours patrolling with fire units...we're lucky we got away with a house," he added.

In this case, building a smart home was a very smart move.

[Image Credit: Getty Creative]