Do you have an excape plan for you game used stuff?

[cubbs1232]

A friend of mines house burned down 2 days before Christmas and they lost everything, and it got me thinking about what id do. Would i grab any jerseys? If so which ones? Would i grab helmet, bats, or cleats if i had time? I had no plans, not only for fire but living here in Fl we get hurricanes, tornatos, and floods.

So i know keep a giant tote below my jerseys where im able to scoop them in and i keep a hammer by my window for a quick escape. Safety of course is my priority but just in case i have time i"ll be ready. What about you?

[CampWest]

I have thought about that before...

I've known a few people who have lost everything in a fire before. Last week my cousin's house burned to the ground.

One thing everyone says is, you think you can go back in and rescue a couple treasured objects, but if the smoke is thick and choking and burning your eyes, you lose motivation really fast.

Personally, I would prefer not to lose my stuff to a fire, but I think they will disappear from my thoughts quickly as I'll be more focused on getting my wife, two dogs and 6 year old daughter out of the house safely... not necessarily in that order... ;) :D

I've been looking at large fire rated safes to store some key items in. Specifically, hard drive filled with backup of digital pictures etc, a couple higher dollar game used bats, and a couple other heirloom type items. For the rest of my GU collection, I'm working on inventorying my collection and adding a rider to my home owners insurance.

Hopefully, it never happens, but if it does, I'm guessing Billy Butler bats will spike in price. :cool:

[metsmetsmets]

Every night, before I go to sleep, I put on every one of my game used jerseys, one over the other, layered. After I've put on my last jersey --I own dozens-- I slip into my custom made Hazmat suit, oversized to make room for the dozens of game used jerseys underneath. This way, in case of an emergency, I can run out of the house knowing that my jerseys are well protected.

[mad87man]

If my house ever caught fire i would prob toss the stuff out the window. I don't have much so it wouldn't be that hard.

[sox83cubs84]

Hang the collection...I'm more concerned about my wife, dog and 2 cats.

Dave Miedema

[kylehess10]

Interesting...I've thought about this a lot before.

If a fire started in my house, I guess I'd have enough time to gather things since I'm in the basement, and I assume a fire would take a good minute to go downwards (if it starts upstairs that is), but I always planned on grabbing as much as I can and throwing it all together. If there isn't a lot of time then I'd just go for the more expensive items. I'd hate to lose anything in my collection so saving items before a house burns down is a must for me; I'd take the risk.

[frikativ54]

Hang the collection...I'm more concerned about my wife, dog and 2 cats.

Dave Miedema

Didn't realize you had two cats, Dave. So do we. But I bet you already knew that. ;)

As for fires, we have focused on prevention. My family installed another smoke detector, because of the rare times that I fall asleep with food in the oven. Luckily, I haven't done that in a while.

And we make sure to blow out candles if we leave the house -- and turn off appliances too.

If there were a fire in our house, I would grab my Bagwell Darryl Kile tribute spikes and hats, a Justin Smoak jersey, some awards/personal possessions, and bolt. The rest could be replaced.

[34swtns]

Had a buddy who went through the LA earthquake back in the mid 90's and he owned one of the most amazing record collections I've ever seen. He had gold and platinum record awards, rare one-off acetates and test pressings, one-of-a-kind autographed promotional and foreign items, all hanging in custom frames on his walls. I managed to reach him by phone the day of the quake and asked him about what all had happened. He said as his house was shaking a great many of his prized possessions were falling off the walls and crashing to the floor. Him and his fiance' were woken from a dead sleep by the noise and chaos. I asked him "what did you do about all your stuff. Did you grab any of it on the way out of the house"?
He replied, "hell no, we were stomping all over that s#it trying to get out of there"!
Apparently, when the stuff hits the fan, you realize real quick just what's important and what's not.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Apparently, when the stuff hits the fan, you realize real quick just what's important and what's not.

So true.

[Birdbats]

A friend of mine who is a dentist saw a large chunk of his amazing collection destroyed in a fire at his office this past weekend. Here are a couple links to an article and a photo:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/fire-reignites-at-dental-office-in-maplewood/article_ddf74844-3d9b-11e1-ada2-001a4bcf6878.html

http://www.stltoday.com/news/multimedia/maplewood-dentist-s-cardinals-memorabilia-heavily-damaged-in-fire/image_98b6acbe-bca6-59c2-96b0-6e462d1709de.html

[frikativ54]

A friend of mine who is a dentist saw a large chunk of his amazing collection destroyed in a fire at his office this past weekend. Here are a couple links to an article and a photo:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/fire-reignites-at-dental-office-in-maplewood/article_ddf74844-3d9b-11e1-ada2-001a4bcf6878.html

http://www.stltoday.com/news/multimedia/maplewood-dentist-s-cardinals-memorabilia-heavily-damaged-in-fire/image_98b6acbe-bca6-59c2-96b0-6e462d1709de.html

That's pretty sad. Hopefully, this thread will encourage people to do the little things to make things safer around their memorabilia.

[OaklandAsFan]

man this is a great topic, I have put some thought into this but ultimately I know that my family would come first. Plus there is no way I could even begin to grab things as I have stuff scattered throughout the house.

I'm lucky enough to have a wife tolerant of my hobby so I have bats lining the wall down the hallway and two huge cabinets filled with baseball cards and other assorted items along with GU hockey sticks in our office and our bedroom is filled with baseball memorabilia and cards so badly you can barely walk in it right now (working on getting it all up into the loft and getting that put together into a nice memorabilia room right now) plus one section of our closet is taken up with jerseys.

I would be screwed if this house ever went up but like i said, family first!

[brewcrew]

In the abstract I'd probably think about grabbing what I could but in the moment I'd just be focused on my family's safety. Ultimately I'd just be happy if my husband and my daughter made it out, regardless of what possessions we lost. Things can be replaced. And even irreplaceable things can't replace people.

Although this thread does remind me that I was planning on getting a supplemental insurance policy for my collection once we move into our new house. Most homeowners' policies have a maximum coverage limit for certain kinds of collectibles, I think.

[coxfan]

I had a neighbors' family in he early 60's, who were getting in their car when they saw flames shooting out of their house. The entire house went up in flames in only 1-2 minutes. Fortunately, nobody was inside.

Fires can spread so rapidly and unpredictably that the only safe thing is to focus on people and not the possessions. Flames can quickly and unexpectedly block your intended exits and cause confusion, complicated by smoke. Plus, there are sometimes toxic fumes that pose a danger, as well as the smoke itself.

[Mulligans]

I had a neighbors' family in he early 60's, who were getting in their car when they saw flames shooting out of their house. The entire house went up in flames in only 1-2 minutes. Fortunately, nobody was inside.

Fires can spread so rapidly and unpredictably that the only safe thing is to focus on people and not the possessions. Flames can quickly and unexpectedly block your intended exits and cause confusion, complicated by smoke. Plus, there are sometimes toxic fumes that pose a danger, as well as the smoke itself.

Agreed......I have a very good GU Insurance policy.:)

[coxfan]

I spoke to someone today who knows someone who rents two safe deposit boxes just to store his vintage card collection. A few of your most prized small items like balls, autographs, rare books, and even g-u caps can be fit into your bank box, such as when you're on a long trip and your house is more vulnerable. Or you could do like me and take a few of the most irreplacable things along when we're away for a few days on a long car trip.

[Skizzick]

I'd grab my Team Cuba jerseys and Contreras Phillies jersey, throw them over my shoulder, and grab my Phillies WS framed items. They took me the longest to compile, but if I don't get it all, I won't fret...it's all heavily insured.

[10thMan]

Ever been in a significant Fire??? Pick the Venue...House, large Boat, Stadium, wherever. By Trade I had to take a Federally approved Fire Fighting Course, putting out different types of Fires, including Combustibles, Gas, & Electrical. Even a small "Enclosed" type Fire gets very smokey, QUICKLY. Really easy to say I`m gonna grab "so & so`s" Bats etc, I doubt it.

The LAST thing I`m concerned about are Bats Jerseys & Cards, Life`s too short to worry about "Things"

Sean

[sox83cubs84]

Ever been in a significant Fire??? Pick the Venue...House, large Boat, Stadium, wherever. By Trade I had to take a Federally approved Fire Fighting Course, putting out different types of Fires, including Combustibles, Gas, & Electrical. Even a small "Enclosed" type Fire gets very smokey, QUICKLY. Really easy to say I`m gonna grab "so & so`s" Bats etc, I doubt it.

The LAST thing I`m concerned about are Bats Jerseys & Cards, Life`s too short to worry about "Things"

Sean

+1

Dave Miedema