Here comes me.
The fire, while it does fade out, sounds like it's always from the front. Infact, when sitting infront of the fire it still seems like you are looking directly at it and/or it is around you because, well, it's stereo.
Best case scenerio is to try to make it so the sound clip is emulated a bit to the side and a bit quieter. And make it fade out a bit faster.