OT: Fire is coming. What do you grab?
 

The fires in SoCal reminded me that we had a similar scare a few years ago. Hopefully everyone in the vicinity has been able to evade the fires, and any losses are insured. In a personal note, my sister who lives in Santa Rosa has had her place burn down twice over the last few years. So I’m definitely familiar with how devastating it can be.

A few years ago when the blaze was approaching our house, we got to the point where the authorities advised us to gather our stuff and be ready to leave.

What do you include on your list to take with you? Does the cardboard make the cut? All of it, or just the stuff that is hard to replace? And to what extent do you tell your wife?

I had planned to take all of my valuable cardboard, and leave the cheap stuff. Naturally, when I shared my plan with the wife, she was less than enthused about my priorities. And not because she wanted more love for the commons!

So now it’s your turn. What’s on your list to grab and go?

Joe T.

The most important things...pets, papers (deeds, titles, insurance, checks, etc.), clothes, toiletries. Maybe a few irreplaceable cards.

Nothing......all valuables should already be in a fire safe

Too funny. You must add your touch to the Memory Lane thread too.

If time was extremely limited, my wife and I would grab our two cats. Knowing those two, we wouldn't be able to hold anything else. So, unless the item fits into our pockets, it's getting left behind. I'd grab keys, phone, wallet...and that's about it.

All my cards are in a fire safe. They protect for about 90 minutes at 1400 degrees. That isn't going to cut it for a sustained fire. That's good for holding off until the fire department puts out a house fire.

If I have advanced notice and don't have to be worried about rushing my family out of a burning house, I have the irreplaceable cards in a carrying case inside the fire safe. I can quickly open the safe and grab that case and run.

-
My collection, by design, fits in 4 samsonite strong cases about the size of carry on luggage, so those 4 cases, a fifth with cash and gold, and my trusty canine companion Orlando. A knife, a plate, a bowl, a fork, and two blankets.

if I had more time I'd grab some artwork, all pertinent financial info is at the office so I'm good there.

If I had even more time I'd grab Halle Berry and just keep driving.

The UL fire ratings refers to the amount of time the the interior temp stays below 350 degrees at exposures of 1700 degrees. A house fire with enough fuel can burn in excess of that. Paper might not char until closer to 400 degrees but most plastics melt under 200 degrees, which is not great for slabs.

Yep. Which was the point of my response. Don't rely on a fire safe if a fire is coming. It's only able to buy a little time for the fire department.

Ahh, yes....but my safe is in the basement and underground

As most everyone else mentioned. My pets 4 dogs first, followed by important papers......wallet etc. And if I have time, some cards that are in my small safe.

….and once they get there, hopefully that safe is water tight too, cuz that things taking a bath.

If I'm in a rush to get out, I'd grabbing the wife and cats and we're out. The rest is just "stuff" and is either insured or I'm sure we could live without it. Given a little time I'd also grab sentimental things like family photos.

Agree. Don't overlook that when buying a safe. The watertight seals on mine supposedly expand under the heat of a fire to make a tighter seal. My safe is supposedly flood proof. Thankfully, I've never had to test it.

Pelican case inside a 2 hour safe is how I store my cards. Provides an extra layer of protection against water and humidity. For a house fire this is about all you should need. In the case of whole neighborhoods burning down, you probably have ample warning and can grab the pelican case along with any important documents.
A go bag is critical. Documents, all medications, basic hygiene supplies, couple pairs of clothes, shelf stable food like high calorie energy bars should get you by.
My wife, go bag, pelican case, and in some circumstances the 12-gauge is all I’m taking if in a rush to get to safety.

I once asked a question on Instagram and captured the responses on YouTube

“Your House Is Burning Down, The One Card You Would Grab?”

https://youtu.be/AcJfW2WRD5c?si=fzIE_TX3RZZRx-N5

And don't forget your passport.

You should watch some YouTube videos (there are many) of safes opened after they've been pulled out of fires. The internal temps get so hot in these safes that anything paper or plastic will most likely be ruined/melted if the fire is direct and lasts anytime at all. I think most home/gun safes are a great deterrent for theft, but I don't think the majority provide the fire protection they claim.

I realize stuff is stuff but without my cards I'd have a hard time rebuilding any kind of life.

I’ve been evacuated twice. The 2018 Woolsey fire and the current Eaton fire.. I may be wrong, but in most cases, you should have sufficient time to grab important stuff. However, when the fire begins quickly and you are very close to it, there may not be sufficient time.

I keep all my important stuff in one location, so in 2018, I was able to grab everything. My car was full of stuff! I grabbed legal documents, old family photos, and my vintage cards! Plus lots of clothes for the whole family.

It was surreal. I thought evacuations where people had to grab family photo albums only happened in the movies. Well, we know it does happen.

I also went through the 2004 hurricane Ivan.

I actually had to make this decision the other day when we got an erroneous evac alert.

Pets, meds, phone, laptop, chargers, the box of vital records, guns and ammo. Oh, and the wife. Whatever other stuff not of immediate use is insured anyway, including my cards. Only an asshole gets killed over cards.

Hopefully that means the fire didn’t blaze through your neighborhood.

Curious about the guns and ammo. Did you bring those for protection, or to avoid the fire setting them off and potentially striking first responders nearby?

Curious as to what the guns & ammo, blankets, food, gold, and hygiene supplies are for that has been mentioned above. If we're talking an apocalyptic event then sure, I agree with all the above; but if I'm only evacuating for a fire I'm personally just going to make a trip to Walmart for snacks and toiletries and then hold up at the Hyatt or Hilton until it's over.

As someone very involved in animal welfare, it's great to see how many value their pets so highly.

I could not enjoy life without my babies:

Attachment 647080

Unless the ammo is loaded into the gun, it is relatively harmless if it is set off by heat. The projectile needs the chamber and barrel to direct the explosive gases. Otherwise, with nothing to contain the blast, the small amount of gun powder in ammunition simply dissipates nearly harmlessly.

I guess if you have a huge arsenal that goes off at once, it could be a nice explosion. But most of the time, it's not a major concern.

As a firearms instructor, I concur.

In the case of a full house fire, wood joists will fail approximately 15-20 minutes after being exposed to fire. At that point the basement ceiling joists fail and collapse down in to the basement.

The basement location might provide an extra 20 minutes of protection, but that's all.

A couple days ago I saw a man on the street being interviewed in the Pacific Palisades and when he said that he lost everything he mentioned his baseball memorabilia a couple times. Can't imagine how many rare cards, memorabilia, art, etc. has been lost this week.

Well, if I am going on a vacation, I would take my hygiene supplies. Why buy more needlessly? You also assume there will be stuff on the shelves. Might not be, especially if deliveries have been disrupted for a few days. That's why you are supposed to take things like pet food.

The hotel idea is nice but with tens of thousands of people evacuated, what makes you think you can get a reservation? My wife and I discussed it and we decided to head for Anaheim if we were evacuated because it is off-season and the hospitality infrastructure around Disneyland is immense.

As for the guns, I'd rather not have my guns laying around for someone to steal if there is looting (which there is). Better to lug em than to put em on the street.

Fair enough. I understand your thought process. My thought was that I'm just getting out and if I need something to eat or a toothbrush I'll go buy it. To me that's not needless spending as the cost of hygiene items are trivial and the entire state can't be out. And as you said, if I needed to drive to Anaheim, or Las Vegas for that matter to get a hotel that's what I would do. Again, I was just curious as to why people listed so many different items, not saying anyone is wrong.

My mother has had to evacuate twice from wild fires in 30 years, living in WA state. Both times we had hours to pack. My baseball card collection is not so significant that I couldn't rebuild. Maybe I have 5 items on display I could throw into a pocket. What I am worried about is family heirlooms. My dad's watch collection, for instance. It's got a separate rider on our insurance, but he loved watches and it is sentimental to me. He has a 1950 Rolex that has been handed down. I'm the 4th owner. Maybe my wife's Mikimoto pearl necklace, right next to my watches.

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

I have often wondered how bank safe deposit boxes hold up in these type fires?

I know from first hand experience they are not always water proof

The dog and nothing else. We only have them for a short time but they have always been my most prized possession.

After having lived through a number of wildfires in Big Sur, CA during the 1990s, I constantly worry about fire. While a home that I was living in never burned down while I was living in it, four different homes that I did live in burned down AFTER I lived in them. For many years, I kept everything of value in a large safe deposit box at the bank, but over time, I've added more larger display items to my collection, so it's no longer possible. Eventually, I moved out of a high-risk neighborhood — it's nice to live so close to nature in California, but risk just wasn't worth it anymore for me. Now I live in the flatlands of a metropolis, where I worry less about fire, and more about theft.

Pets.

Family photos.

Vital documents.

Cards and memorabilia far down the list.

That’s for sure. I’m insured so cards don’t even register.

I think it depends on urgency. If the fire is next door then it's people and pets only. My best friend evacuated from Glendale out of precaution (air quality with a newborn) and he had all day to pack. In that case I'm definitely taking a box or two of my rarest/favorite cards. I don't even worry about family photos and documents all that much because they're digitized in cloud storage.