Fire!!! What do you grab?

[ebonalley]

So I'm practicing in my room today and my wife runs in and yells "There's a fire three houses down." If you've seen the news in the last month you'll know that this is a big deal in Texas. So, I went outside to check things out and thankfully the fire was a few blocks away but the wind was blowing right at us and the smoke was getting thick. We decided to do some preliminary packing just in case. Anyhow, after the pics and passports were gathered I realized that my bass equipment was some of the most expensive items that I own. I really had to ponder a moment and think "Do I allocate 6 square feet of my relatively small Mazda 5 to my MB212, or do I pack my SR505, or perhaps some clothes or something?" Thankfully, the fire was contained and we didn't have to leave. Anyhow, would you bring your bass equipment, if so what would you bring and what would you leave to fate?

[Strat Hater]

I'm insured....so letter burn baby. I will buy all new with the insurance money. I would grab my dogs, cat, wife, wallet, money and clothes

[Muzoid]

Daughter, her bunny, wallet, cel...and the 3 Tree Frogs.

Maybe a bag of Marshmallows too.

[HaMMerHeD]

Pocket essentials (phone, wallet, etc.), my kid, and her photos of her mom.

[the byronic man]

dogs, Rickenbacker 4001, whichever guitar is closest to my 4001, wallet/passport, laptop, text books, clothes. in that order.

[SoonerMatt]

Cat, clothes, phone/wallet/keys/passport, diploma, fraternity paddle. I'm insured so everything else can burn and make moving much easier at the end of the year.

[Icey101]

if the family are all out, then i would dive back through the flames for my Stingray and Eden Head

[johndough247]

In order: Phone Wallet and Passport, my Sadowsky, External backup hard drive, throw a few clothes in a bag with my laptop.

[kesslari]

Wife and kid.
Dogs and as many of our 4 cats as I could find.
Laptops and photos, and the incredible custom knife that my son gave me.
Zon and Tobias basses, possibly GB Streamliner - it's small and light.
Some clothes.
It's all pretty well organized.

If the fire started in the house, I doubt I'd make it past the family and pets. But if we had warning, I could get all of the above packed into the car in 10 minutes or less.

[bassbrad]

These fires are certainly no laughing matter, look what happened in Bastrop. Make sure the wife and cats are out then grab may main bass Taz, Linda's sax and clarinet, if there is more time then we have a secondary list to gather. We have given this a lot of thought and have backed up the computers, moved all essential papers to a safe deposit box, checked on the insurance and have a "go pack" already in the car.

[Ubersheist]

I got evacuated due to a fire once. It wasn't close, but they even brought in the National Guard to keep things in order and help evacuate.

Here's what you should grab if you have time:

Phone and wallet
Clothes - didn't and was evacuated for a week. It sucked. I had to wear the same thing for about 3 days before they let me back in just to get clothes.
Laptop
Insurance papers - if you don't have policy numbers on your computer, grab these
My Danelectro
My Warwick
My Ibby

[ninerfan]

I've been in that situation. Fire was coming over the hill towards our house. Family, dog, computers/hard drives, photos, jazz & p bass in that order. I still had more room for more, but they contained the fire. SVT-II and NV610 would have definitely been saved.

[macribas]

I have just been through that (evacuaton) and our drummer lost his house in the fire. I was able to fit six basses in my trunk. Luckily our house was spared.
Does anyone know how insurance works for gear? I never told anyone that I have a bunch of instruments that are worth a lot. Do I need to insure my gear separately?

[Roscoe East]

Well, this is TalkBass, so for the sake of argument that's presume the wife and cats are already safely out of the house, and furthermore let's pretend that I'm a responsible adult who has his passports and important financial documents in a fireproof safe and/or offsite safety lockbox (note to self: Consider becoming a responsible adult sometime in the near future), so I guess you're really asking "Do I grab my basses, & if so which one(s)?"

Fortunately I keep all my instruments in the same closet (except for one that's sitting just outside that closet) so it's pretty easy to grab all of them in my arms in one fell swoop. Which is precisely what I'd do in the event of fire: grab all of them. Screw amps, they're replaceable. Basses & basses only.

Plus maybe a guitar or two, if it's a small fire.

[stingraysvt]

The only amp I'd waste time on was my 77 SVT, even then those pop up from time to time so....

I'd start chunking basses out the window, they're all in hard cases


And on ground level at that!

[tom once dead]

I'd definitely grab my ESP, because it's an uncommon bass and no other bass I've played even comes close to it. If I had some more time/space I'd probably grab my rack.

[eyeballkid]

well Ive actually been thinking about this ALOT lately cos 3 days ago our neighbors house (8 feet away!) caught on fire in the middle of the night. We woke up to smoke and screams. It was amazing how quick I got dressed and got the family out of the house. ( I did grab my messenger bag that had the phone, wallet, keys etc in it... yeah yeah yeah... i got a manpurse.) Once we were outside and we made sure the neighbors were all out of their house the mrs. asked if I grabbed the savings which we have hidden in the house. I was at the same time proud of myself and embarrassed that I hadnt even thought of it. I then went back in and grabbed it all and locked it in the car. At this point the fire dept. arrived. No flames were on the side of the house closest to mine, but we were REAL worried for a while. All the while Im thinking what I should go back and get. All that went thru my head was my paintings (fat chance movin all those out real quick), some clothes, and my bass gear. I told my wife, that if the flames get near our house I was going back in. My bass gear is in the front room by the door so it would be rather safe and quick. I was gonna grab my two favorite basses.. a SLO and a 90s Ray..( to hell with the jazz and sub.) ... the pedalboard, and I was gonna wheel out my NV's and an amp or two. I got three shows in the next two weeks! i dont have time for the insurance.

btw.. before all of this, a neighbor and I made sure the family next door were all out of their house.. sadly two of their girls got burned real bad, but they got out. It made me appreciate REALLY STRONG how important the people are... and all gear talk aside.. that STUFF can easily be replaced!.. my list is only what would 'matter' if I had the time and leisure to get it and believe me, no matter how level headed you are, in the panic of a middle of the night fire, youll be lucky if you can figure out how to get your pants on let alone think of which gear to grab.

[DRafalske]

Aside from the regular stuff like photo albums, important docs, family, dogs... the only music stuff I have that is absolutely NOT replaceable is my 1993 Washburn MB2 bass. My old man bought it for me for my 14th birthday, and he passed a couple weeks later.
I'd grab my 2006 Highway 1 Precision too if I had time - it was a gift from my wife.

D

[Strohsx]

Home owners insurance woot!
Let my crappy basses burn and upgrade to something better.


Probably grab my booze and a lawn chair to sit at the end of the driveway and enjoy the bon fire.

Oh and my backup tapes form the safe if I have time.

[scottbass]

Lucille.