# In the event of fire, what would you save?



## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

In the 25 Random Things thread, maryannaevans said this:



maryannaevans said:


> 1. If my house were to ever catch fire, the first thing I'd do after saving my daughter and my cat would be to try to figure out how to drag my 7-foot-2-inch grand piano outside.


and I got to thinking... assuming we'd all save family members and pets first (or at least make sure that they had escaped safely), what_ else_ would you save?

(Or have we had a thread like this before?)


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## Neo (Mar 30, 2009)

I'd grab all my original papers, like passport, birth certificates, school and college diplomas, etc. All these things are virtually impossible to replace and would take forever to gather again - and you need them all your life for work, etc. 

After that, photo albums.

After that... How much time does one have??

ETA: and my Kindle of course!!!! But as it is always in my purse anyway ...


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## farrellclaire (Mar 5, 2010)

Flash drive containing photos & writing.  Must put it in an easily grabbable place in case of fire


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## Tip10 (Apr 16, 2009)

My arse figuring I could replace most of the rest.

Now if you were to say my house would burn down tomorrow what would I haul out tonight -- whole 'nother story there!  Then it'd be my 'portable drive with all my data backup on it, I'd empty the cabinet that contains all my mom and dad's old pictures, the normal papers (passport, insurance, etc) 
WAIT A MINUTE -- if you tell me today it'll burn tomorrow I'll empty the friggin' house!

Seriously though -- how much time do I have -- and is there anything in my house worth risking my life over -- probably not other than DW and DD and the dogs....


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Ok assuming kids and pets were covered. I'd grab my purse, important paper documents, my ipad, my favorite pistol and my time machine backup. In reality, I'd easily be able to grab my mac too. If I had enough time next on my list would be the rest of our guns and ammo.


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## louiseb (Mar 2, 2009)

My 7 dogs and parrot, I'm sure I wouldn't have time for anything else


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

LOL ya I figured I'd make the list as if I was home alone. I'm sure if my hubby was here, he would be the one grabbing the guns first, while I got the rest of the stuff on my list.


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## angelad (Jun 19, 2009)

My laptop


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

After family and pets, I would take my purse (filled with my wallet, phone and Kindle), portable hard drive, photo albums and this one Valentine's Day bear I have that has a lot of sentimental value.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

As they are in the room right next to the front door,  I would grab Dh's 3wallhangings from his days in the Marines. One is a shadowbox with his dress blues topwith all medals/ribbons etc., One is well.. not exactly a shadowbox, more like a deep picture frame with patches from all of the units he served with, and the 3rd, is from when we were stationed in Okinawa. As a going away present, on of the guys filled an 8.5"x11" page with gorgeous sketches of all of the aircraft their unit worked on/with, and then it was matted with a 4" mat around it, and everyone signed it w/special messages.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

My pets. Everything else can be replaced.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

Important papers in fire safe in front room... THEN Laptops and flashdrives and photo albums.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Meredith Sinclair said:


> Important papers in fire safe in front room... THEN Laptops and flashdrives and photo albums.


Part of me wants to leave my papers in the safe just to see if it works ....


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

4 kids, 5 cats, 2 dogs, 2 frogs and 3 snails... I doubt I'd have time to grab anything else.

(although I'm sure my iPhone would find it's way into my hand..It's pretty much always there.)


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

Assuming all humans and pets were safe, I'd grab in this order:
Our network file server
My wedding ring
My computer (and grab the external drive and thumb drive while I'm at it)
DH's computer
My purse
Photo albums


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

We've had the fire alarm go off several times in this building in the past year.  All false alarms.  I found that at all these times, I didn't think about saving anything really.  Objects didn't matter.  And I have backups of my files offsite.  We've never had a real fire, but in all the false alarms, I find that I only look for shoes and a jacket.  

By now, of course, when there's a fire alarm, I don't even do that.  I only sniff for smoke, and when I smell none, I wait for the alarm to stop.  

Daniel


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## Pushka (Oct 30, 2009)

Just important papers which are stored in a fireproof box anyway.  Anything else is replaceble.  We have had a fire in our house - at 4am in our son's room when the electrical heater simply decided to fuse and overheat.  The smoke detector woke up my son just as the flames were about to reach the ceiling.  He rang the fire brigade (he was 16 at the time) Five minutes later and the house would be gone.


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

Pushka, that's crazy.  Sounds like a close one!

I remember being in a friend's house a few years ago, watching a fire in the field outside.  It spread rapidly through the dry grass, moving closer and closer to the building.  The firemen arrived just on time.


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## chiffchaff (Dec 19, 2008)

One of my friends almost lost her house to a brush fire a few years ago.  It was very scary.

after my 3 dogs, I agree almost everything else can be replaced, including my kindle since Amazon has all my books backed up for me.  But if there was time:

my iphone because I'd need it in the aftermath
my external hard drive (back up drive), with my key files and (especially) all my pictures
and if I was thinking clearly enough, my Swarovski binoculars (I'm a birder)

there's also a lovely print of a watercolor that I might grab.  The print can be replaced, but it's in a hand-made aspen frame that has sentimental value.

Hmmm.  Thinking about that external drive with my pictures, music, account info, etc makes me realize I really should take the advice I've read here and set up some off-site storage.


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## ValeriGail (Jan 21, 2010)

My kiddos of course, my dogs (though they might already be outside) and the 10 kittens and their mommas that are in my closet right now.....

My external hard drive.  I would literally just yank out the cords and take it with me.  Probably as I ran passed it to get to the kids, since I would be going by it to get downstairs.  That and my iphone, which is connected to me almost always anyway.  I probably wouldn't think to grab my kindle unless it was sitting next to the external in its bag (which it often is).  As much as I would miss everything else after that, its mostly replaceable.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

After the Kiddo and the three cats --

Our birth certificates, my passport and green card. Those would be a major hassle to replace.

Then SweetieBear, if DD wasn't already clutching her (the absolute favorite and irreplaceable teddy bear!)

Two rings, if I wasn't already wearing them -- one from my great-grandmother, and one from _her_ mother. Perhaps some other jewelry with sentimental value.

Some long-out-of-print books from my grandfather, and an unpublished draft.

The hand-written family genealogy charts to 1600something.

Electronics are all replaceable... most of the photos are already duplicated off-site.... but writing this makes me realize I should take those last items on the list and have copies made of them as well.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> Part of me wants to leave my papers in the safe just to see if it works ....


I am soooo a.r. about that darn thing... I drag it everywhere... I am *afraid* to see if it works!


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Yeah, I don't really trust that the fire safe will work. Or at least I don't want to find out.


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

As long as the Spouse Thingy and kitties were safe, this is the only thing I would care about:










Made by my father in law; he gave it to us just 9 months before he died. Every cut in that clock was done by hand, very painstaking work. The soda can is there to give it scale...


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## gdae23 (Apr 30, 2009)

I found it very interesting to read people's responses here, because this question is not just hypothetical for me. This past November, there was a fire in my apt. building, which started in the apt. right under mine. Everyone and their pets got out OK, but it was very scary. 

The alarms downstairs and in my apt. went off, but not until things were fairly advanced. By the time I realized what was happening and that I needed to get out, there was already smoke coming into my apt. It was after midnight, but luckily I was still up and dressed, and had my handbag right nearby with money,  cell phone, ID, etc. I grabbed that, and the only other thing I grabbed, which was also right nearby, was my fiddle.

I could see flames in the back yard, so I knew I couldn't get out that way. I went to the front door of my apt., which is one flight up from the street and front entrance door, but it was pitch black in the hall. It was a scary few minutes while I wondered how I would get out, but then some lights finally came on. Given the moment, I never figured out if it was emergency hall lights or the lights from the firemen who had just arrived. It was light enough to see that the coast was clear to run down the stairs and out the front door. 

By then I was coughing a lot from the smoke and starting to feel short of breath, and I actually made a split second decision to NOT carry the fiddle in case that hindered my getting out. I put it down on the floor of my apt. and ran for it. I'm happy to say the fiddle came through the fire unscathed, but when it came right down to it, nothing felt more important to me at that moment than simply getting out of the building and into the fresh air, no matter what material possessions were lost. 

When I got back in after the fire, nothing had burned in my apt., but there had been a lot of smoke and apparently hot spots, so the firemen had broken windows, punched holes in walls etc.  In the process, they had knocked over a rack of CDs and stepped on several, which were in pieces. And you know what - I didn't care. I still don't. I'm so relieved to just have gotten out of there alive and uninjured. 

I will be honest that I don't know if I would have felt differently if things actually burned in my apt. or if I didn't at least have my handbag with me with basic essentials. (Since I've been back in my apt. after the repairs were done, I keep the handbag right near the bed when I'm sleeping.) When I went to gather some basic things to stay elsewhere for awhile, I did bring the Kindle along, and was very happy to have it. So I would say the Kindle is a priority for me, but not a life-or-death essential, when it really comes down to it.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Thumper said:


> As long as the Spouse Thingy and kitties were safe, this is the only thing I would care about:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thumper I would save that too!


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## tessa (Nov 1, 2008)

Thumper,

  That clock is beautiful!

tessa


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## KindleChickie (Oct 24, 2009)

I would grab my purse which is generally filled with my fav gadgets (along with important things like passport/wallet/keys).  If it were night and they gadgets were docked, I would just unplug the docking station and carry it out with the purse.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

That's a beautiful clock, Thumper.

gdae, how frightening!  I hope that this thread did not bring back nightmarish thoughts for you.


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## WilliamM (Feb 10, 2009)

my families ass (and my ass)  
everything else can be replaced


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Having had a friend who died of smoke inhalation, and seeing news reports about how fast the smoke can make the air unbreathable, nothing other than anybody in the house.  The movies and TV are very misleading in how long people can survive in a burning building.

Now, if I were having to evacuate, as friends in San Diego had to during the fires out there, and I had fifteen minutes or so...Kindle, iPad, cell phone, my scope, several teddy bears, some of my quilts...

Betsy


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## OliviaD (Jul 21, 2009)

My doggie! My flashdrives! My pictures! My microwave! My favorite shoes! My purse! Oh yeah, my DH!  I hope to God that I never have to make a decision under such horrible circumstances.  I do think of it every time I leave the house with dear little dog inside.  I think "OMG! What would happen if the house catches on fire?"  That would be a terrible thing.


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## Pencepon (Nov 14, 2008)

I live in San Diego where we've had two rounds of firestorms in the past few years, and my decision was that, other than my husband and cats, I wouldn't try to save anything. It's too dangerously time-wasting to dither about what to save and what to leave, and I have so many inherited things, some of them large (a chest of drawers, a roll-top desk) that could only be moved if you had a lot of notice — well, you can risk your life trying to pack things, or you can just get in the car and go. We did have enough notice this last time that we grabbed the important papers (that are all in one package and ready to go) and my iMac, which is pretty easy to unplug and carry. People died in these fires, and it's just not worth it to risk your life for possessions, even if they are irreplaceable.


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## gdae23 (Apr 30, 2009)

For myself, I am mentally changing the title of this discussion to "What possessions would you be most upset to lose in a fire?" or maybe "What possessions would you hope to be able to save if there was a fire?"
(I do understand how the original was meant and I admit to being picky here, but these work better for me.)


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## arshield (Nov 17, 2008)

All my computer files are backed up in the cloud.  Same with kinde, music and pictures.  Most important things (birth certificate, etc.) are scanned and backed up.  

My family had a fire when I was a kid and we lost everything.  The fire and the fact that I have moved a ton of times in my life mean I am not that concerned with the stuff.  Just get out.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

This does have a familiar ring:

*gdae:* My heart goes out to you. What an awful experience. My cousins lost their Grandma to a fire at their house; they have never forgotten it. It haunts my Uncle every day; that he couldn't save his mother in law. My Aunt has spent the last 30 years or better trying to convince him that there was nothing that he could have done; there was no time. They lost her and everything they owned.

*Thumper*...AMAZING clock. Unbelievable. Have you ever had it appraised? It is a treasure to behold.

For me: After the kids, DH and Puppy Mia; I would grab the family photos and videos. Then the Kindle.


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