Really interesting article about a Wayne Gretzky collector in Fort McMurray, and what he grabbed on the way out of his house:

http://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/fort-mcmurray-gretzky-collector-saved-jerseys-but-no-longer-so-keen-on-hobby-1.2895561

Given time, there are Browns cards in my collection that I would want to grab, but, wow, what a horrible thought to have to consider. And I think that if I lost it all, I probably would take it as a sign and stop collecting, but who knows? I hope none of us ever have to find out.

When I was about 10 years old, my family's basement flooded. In the process, my entire card collection was destroyed. In retrospect, I don't think I had anything of worth per se, but I was devastated. 

Nice post. Ok, I'll bite. Assuming the family and pets are ok, and we're just talking collectibles, I'll answer. The guy in the article actually had a little time; it wasn't the classic house on fire scenario. He was part of an urgent evacuation of the area. So in that scenario I'm sweeping the one shelf of cards I have on display (if someone actually cared about details, those cards constitute one of my lists on this site) into a bag. That covers some favorites and all the tobacco cards. I grab my pre 1960 binder with the 1951 Redbacks complete set and some other good stuff. If there's actually a fire in my house, I'm out the door then. But if I've got four more minutes, I run downstairs and grab the old Jackie Robinson, Mantle, Feller, Paige, and Musial. Might be faster to just sweep that shelf into a bag. Then I run up to the attic and grab my 1972 and 1975 sets. And I'm good. Sad, but good. 

Love to grab the coins I saved from late father's collection, cuz he got me started on this collecting thing. 

What fun! Almost makes me rethink the idea that my cards are spread across three floors....Nah.

V3

Reminds me of my darkest day. I was moving into a new top-floor apartment. I had my boxes of cards stacked against a wall. Found out after a heavy rain that there was leakage (windows, roof). Quite a few inches of every box next to the wall got soaked. And even more of the bottom boxes.

My most valuable cards are in my safe deposit box. More are in my small fireproof safe. My most prized cards are in binders. So I'd probably grab my Mets and Raiders binders first. And as many of the others as I and the wife can carry.

V-cubed, you should cube your V, like this:

V³

Vvvergeer wrote:

Nice post. Ok, I'll bite. Assuming the family and pets are ok, and we're just talking collectibles, I'll answer. The guy in the article actually had a little time; it wasn't the classic house on fire scenario. He was part of an urgent evacuation of the area. So in that scenario I'm sweeping the one shelf of cards I have on display (if someone actually cared about details, those cards constitute one of my lists on this site) into a bag. That covers some favorites and all the tobacco cards. I grab my pre 1960 binder with the 1951 Redbacks complete set and some other good stuff. If there's actually a fire in my house, I'm out the door then. But if I've got four more minutes, I run downstairs and grab the old Jackie Robinson, Mantle, Feller, Paige, and Musial. Might be faster to just sweep that shelf into a bag. Then I run up to the attic and grab my 1972 and 1975 sets. And I'm good. Sad, but good. 

Love to grab the coins I saved from late father's collection, cuz he got me started on this collecting thing. 

What fun! Almost makes me rethink the idea that my cards are spread across three floors....Nah.

V3

well i went through this.. i wasn't home but pretty much lost most of my collection. I had moved a couple boxes out a few months prior but other than that.. all was gone 

Yes, I know. Sometimes I do, but it's usually too much work. But that's how it looks when I hand-write my initials, like I did 20 times last week when we refinanced the house....

Yeah, it's too bad we can't do that sort of stuff in our "Forum Signature".

Believe me, a scenario I often think about. Beside fire, and water damage, my other fear is tornado (living in Michigan). I always image 600,000 cards scattered over miles and miles, damaged, wet, and gone. I agree with the person above who says if it happened it would be a sign to stop collecting. Hopefully none of us will ever experience that. On a side note, I am hoping to establish a rough value on my collection and get it insured. From what I understand you can pay to get a rider on your policy for collectibles. Has anyone gone this route, any tips or info? Thanks.

Hmm...I d grab one of my  two smaller notebooks  containing my 60's and 70's Tigers.

Off the subject a bit but if you think about it this is an incentive for folks to get their list (and upload their card images) updated in this database for insurance purposes.