Short answer:  there is no difference; it's just a stylistic difference between the fonts that were used for each when the book was printed.

Long answer:  my shoudo (calligraphy) experience is somewhat limited, however, I would say that the "fat part" of the first stroke should be pointing somewhat to the left of the character.  To be honest, though, Japanese people don't really care (or even notice) how it's written in everyday situations.  It's similar to how a lowercase "a" in English can have a different shape depending on the font.  Personally, when I write 火 with a pen, pencil, or even 筆ペン (fude-pen), I draw the first stroke with the fat part pointing in.  Every Japanese person I know does the same, but no one really pays attention to that kind of thing (Hell, my wife doesn't even do the stroke ORDER properly!)

Last edited by potempkin (2008 November 02, 1:04 pm)

Or this: Brush Writing: Calligraphy Techniques for Beginners. I'm taking a short calligraphy course now, and I'm loving what it's doing to my handwriting in general.