6 Things I’d Grab in a Fire
Last Updated August 20, 2021
Being a native Californian, fire season is nothing new for me. What is new, is the length of fire season, the size of the fires, and frequency in which our skies are smokey. So, more than ever it’s important to be prepared.
Let’s start by saying, I’m a minimalist. And with increasing fires and other disasters, it makes me even happier to be a minimalist. There’s really nothing in our house that’s of value and thus, really not a whole lot of things I’d need to grab.
All my efforts to live minimally and plastic-free, have made it easier to emotionally detach myself from my house and things in general. And this makes it much easier to decide what’s important in the event of an emergency. (By the way, this does not mean I’m not thankful for my house and that I don’t love it. Just saying.) So, here’s what I’d take.
1. Important Documents
We have all our important documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates and passports in a fireproof safe and backed up digitally. If your house burns down, not having these documents just adds more tasks to your already long list to recovery. Save yourself the hassle and buy a fireproof box or safe. They sell options with a key:
And then ones with a digital keypad which is a little more expensive. Personally, we have one with a keypad because I’m sure we would lose the keys.
2. Evacuation Bag
After grabbing the important documents, I’d pick up our evacuation bag. Ready.gov has a comprehensive checklist of items you’ll want in case of an emergency. Here are the items in our bag:
If you can use what you already have or buy things secondhand, do that first! You know those samples you get at the dentist? Throw those in your emergency bag. I usually refuse those samples, but it’s REALLY hard to get your little kid to refuse free things. So, I put their freebies in our emergency bag.
Here are a few extra things that we added to the bag. A hand-crank NOAA radio with a flash light and a charging port for phones.
And this inflatable lamp is powered by a solar panel and can charge your phone.
If you’re an avid camper, you can raid your camping supplies in an emergency.
Now, if our house was actually on fire, I’d just grab the first two items. If this were an evacuation and I had some extra time, I’d grab the rest of these items.
3. Change of Clothes
In addition to my emergency bag, I have a separate bag with clothes packed for everyone in the family. While you’re purging your closet, instead of putting clothes in a donation pile, pack it into an emergency bag. You liked the item enough to buy it, so unless it’s a ballgown or tuxedo, I’m sure it will work in an emergency.
Plus, oftentimes donated clothes still end up in the landfill, so you’re extending the life of your clothes by giving it a second purpose.
These are some of the items in our clothing bag:
- Pants
- Shirts
- Pajamas
- Underwear
- Socks
- Shoes
- Flip Flops
- Jacket
4. Food
Next, I’d grab our food. We don’t eat a whole lot of canned foods, since cans are lined with BPA, but we have them for emergencies. We have enough for at least three days for our family.
I’d scoop all following items into bags:
- all the canned food in the pantry (about 2 grocery bags worth)
- dried fruits and nuts
- all fresh fruits and vegetables
- wine (so important! :P)
- ice packs from freezer
- two large water jugs under the sink
After grabbing the food, don’t forget to grab a can opener. Or better yet, add a small military can opener or regular can opener to your emergency bag!
FEMA recommends one gallon of water per person per day. For a family of four that’s 12 gallons of water. Water is heavy, so clearly not everyone is going to carry their own water.
We have two large seven gallon emergency water jugs that we store under the sink and switch the water out every six months.
Yes, I know it’s plastic, but we’re talking about an emergency here.
5. Electronics
After grabbing all the food, I’d pull our electronics together. All of the important electronic files are backed up both online and in a physical hard drive. I’d grab the external hard drive, my laptop, and the iPads for the kids. I have the charging cables all packed together with a battery bank in my travel bag. And there are extra cables in the emergency bag.
6. Extras
Finally, in the case of an emergency, things are going to be stressful. So, packing a few comforts will help pass the time and hopefully lessen the stress.
For my kids, I’d grab:
- a few books
- a few toys
- their favorite stuffed animals
- their favorite blanket
For myself, I’d grab:
- a physical book
- a journal
- a pillow
One last note, if you have a lot of sentimental items, take pictures of them and create an online album. If you’re ever faced with an evacuation you might not have time or space to grab all your sentimental items. So, if you end up losing them, at least you’ll have a photo.
I’d recommend going through this exercise and thinking about what you’d pack in an evacuation and make a list. I have one list on my phone and one printed with our emergency bag. You don’t want to run out of the house and forget clean underwear!
What do you think? Do you have an emergency bag and an evacuation plan? What are some of the things you’d grab that I didn’t mention? Tell me in the comments!
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