How to Save What’s Priceless When Disaster Strikes
Careful planning and response in the face of floods or bushfires can help keep irreplaceable family heirlooms safe
Gwendolyn Purdom
10 March 2022
Lover of architecture, history, dogs, the Chicago Cubs, crowded bookshelves, and homes with a story. Former editor at Preservation mag and Culturess.com.
Lover of architecture, history, dogs, the Chicago Cubs, crowded bookshelves, and... More
In the frenzied 20 minutes between the moment Shelby Lord asked her mother if she smelled something burning and when she and her family saw their Californian house for the last time, Shelby thought to grab some photos of their family home. Her father and grandfather had dedicated 20 years to building and expanding their two-story, white-columned home from the ground up, and as fires raged through California that night in October 2017, Shelby wanted to capture every detail. Shelby, her mother Gina, her father Ken and her boyfriend Ryan managed to escape to their cars with their three cats and one dog, a few boxes of belongings and those dozens of images. Everything else was lost.
The Lord family surveys what’s left of their home after 2017’s Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa, California.
“There’s nothing that survived the fire in terms of personal contents; we didn’t find an old photo album or anything like that,” says Gina. “The fire was just so hot that it really destroyed everything. We picked up things that were just unrecognisable. Everything was just melted together.”
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“There’s nothing that survived the fire in terms of personal contents; we didn’t find an old photo album or anything like that,” says Gina. “The fire was just so hot that it really destroyed everything. We picked up things that were just unrecognisable. Everything was just melted together.”
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An old photo that Gina Lord managed to save of the Lord family home before it burned down.
The house and their furnishings, Gina acknowledges, was “only stuff,” and a year later, the Lords say they’re just grateful to be alive and in the early stages of rebuilding. But knowing that Gina’s daughters will never be able to wear the wedding gown she had been saving for them still hurts. Old love letters from Ken, boxes full of yearbooks and the outfits the girls wore home from the hospital as babies are now gone.
“It’s so raw because there’s no way I can ever get that back,” says Gina. “It’s a lifetime of everything we’ve done together. That’s what’s so hard to this day. I wish I had more time to take some of those items that can’t be replaced with money or time.”
The house and their furnishings, Gina acknowledges, was “only stuff,” and a year later, the Lords say they’re just grateful to be alive and in the early stages of rebuilding. But knowing that Gina’s daughters will never be able to wear the wedding gown she had been saving for them still hurts. Old love letters from Ken, boxes full of yearbooks and the outfits the girls wore home from the hospital as babies are now gone.
“It’s so raw because there’s no way I can ever get that back,” says Gina. “It’s a lifetime of everything we’ve done together. That’s what’s so hard to this day. I wish I had more time to take some of those items that can’t be replaced with money or time.”
The Rebecca Kennedy from the Smithsonian Institution removes moisture from a violin case damaged by flooding in Louisiana, USA in 2016. Photo by Nora Lockshin, Smithsonian Institution.
It’s a refrain Lori Foley says she hears every time these kinds of disasters wreak havoc. Foley works as an administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Smithsonian Institution’s joint Heritage Emergency National Task Force in the USA. Initially, the organisations aimed to help museums and other cultural institutions salvage disaster-damaged artefacts, but in recent years, the group has widened its mission to address individuals’ meaningful heirlooms as well.
It’s a refrain Lori Foley says she hears every time these kinds of disasters wreak havoc. Foley works as an administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Smithsonian Institution’s joint Heritage Emergency National Task Force in the USA. Initially, the organisations aimed to help museums and other cultural institutions salvage disaster-damaged artefacts, but in recent years, the group has widened its mission to address individuals’ meaningful heirlooms as well.
Family photos and other heirlooms lie on streets and lawns after severe flash flooding in Illinois in 2013. FEMA Corps photo by Bryan Adams.
As difficult as losing a house or a pricey equipment can be, Foley says the loss of those little personal treasures – old photos, christening gowns, family cookbooks – can be the most devastating. Luckily, there are steps you can take before and after severe weather or a catastrophe to better protect your keepsakes.
As difficult as losing a house or a pricey equipment can be, Foley says the loss of those little personal treasures – old photos, christening gowns, family cookbooks – can be the most devastating. Luckily, there are steps you can take before and after severe weather or a catastrophe to better protect your keepsakes.
Take an inventory
Foley recommends walking through your house and making a list of the items that are most meaningful to you long before any threat of a bushfire, flood, hurricane, earthquake or other disaster.
“Really see when you’re walking around – what is it that you refer to? What is it that you really love?” says Foley. “Think about things; if there are recipes that were passed down to you on recipe cards that your grandmother gave you, it’s not the end of the world if you lost them – but it is, in a sense. They’re a part of you and they mean so much to you.”
Foley recommends walking through your house and making a list of the items that are most meaningful to you long before any threat of a bushfire, flood, hurricane, earthquake or other disaster.
“Really see when you’re walking around – what is it that you refer to? What is it that you really love?” says Foley. “Think about things; if there are recipes that were passed down to you on recipe cards that your grandmother gave you, it’s not the end of the world if you lost them – but it is, in a sense. They’re a part of you and they mean so much to you.”
It’s a great activity to do as a family, going room by room, says Foley. The list, which should include where in the house each item is, should be kept in an easily accessible place with a family emergency kit. People should also consider how much they’ll be able to carry with them should a disaster strike. Unfortunately, not every item will be able to make the cut. “Obviously if you don’t have room in the car for the kids, you made the wrong decisions,” says Foley.
After a fire swept through nearby a few years earlier, Gina says she and Ken intentionally pulled together a few boxes of old home movies, vinyl records and family photos that hadn’t been digitised, and kept them in an easily accessible place in case they ever faced a similar situation.
After a fire swept through nearby a few years earlier, Gina says she and Ken intentionally pulled together a few boxes of old home movies, vinyl records and family photos that hadn’t been digitised, and kept them in an easily accessible place in case they ever faced a similar situation.
These were among the first things the family loaded into their cars when the fire came, but Gina says she wishes she had taken the time before the fire, when she had been thinking more clearly, to properly map out all the possessions she wanted to save. “You’re not thinking rationally,” she says. “You’re not asking, ‘Well, what do I need to do?’”
Gina also suggests having some empty boxes at the ready long before a fire or other disaster is bearing down, just in case. “Had I had some empty boxes, I could have run through my house in those five or 10 minutes while Shelby was taking pictures and we were trying to pack the cats up,” she says. “I would have taken more things.”
Gina also suggests having some empty boxes at the ready long before a fire or other disaster is bearing down, just in case. “Had I had some empty boxes, I could have run through my house in those five or 10 minutes while Shelby was taking pictures and we were trying to pack the cats up,” she says. “I would have taken more things.”
Back up everything
Sentimental photographs, Foley says, are by far the items she sees the most people mourning in the aftermath of a disaster.
If you have a large collection of paper (not digital) photos, take some time when there’s no safety threat to digitise them. Spend a weekend using a home scanner or working with a photography shop to copy each photo then back up those files on multiple USB sticks, external hard drives or cloud storage systems.
The same goes for other important documents, such as family recipes, old letters or school papers. (Gina had just completed her doctorate at the time of the fire and lost her dissertation as it was not backed up.)
Sentimental photographs, Foley says, are by far the items she sees the most people mourning in the aftermath of a disaster.
If you have a large collection of paper (not digital) photos, take some time when there’s no safety threat to digitise them. Spend a weekend using a home scanner or working with a photography shop to copy each photo then back up those files on multiple USB sticks, external hard drives or cloud storage systems.
The same goes for other important documents, such as family recipes, old letters or school papers. (Gina had just completed her doctorate at the time of the fire and lost her dissertation as it was not backed up.)
Size up your storage
You won’t be able to take everything valuable with you, and trying to could be dangerous, but making thoughtful choices about how and where you store possessions could help in the face of certain disasters.
Foley says that, as a general rule, items of value should not be stored in basements. However, if they are and you have advance warning that flooding or a severe storm could be brewing, move those items upstairs to either the main floor or, if your house has two storeys and an attic, the second floor (if the storm damages the roof, the attic could cop the brunt of that damage). Anything special stored in the attic should similarly be moved downstairs.
Additionally, storing items in plastic tubs sealed with tape may keep out water and, subsequently, mould.
You won’t be able to take everything valuable with you, and trying to could be dangerous, but making thoughtful choices about how and where you store possessions could help in the face of certain disasters.
Foley says that, as a general rule, items of value should not be stored in basements. However, if they are and you have advance warning that flooding or a severe storm could be brewing, move those items upstairs to either the main floor or, if your house has two storeys and an attic, the second floor (if the storm damages the roof, the attic could cop the brunt of that damage). Anything special stored in the attic should similarly be moved downstairs.
Additionally, storing items in plastic tubs sealed with tape may keep out water and, subsequently, mould.
Although moving keepsakes to a place that’s easy to access could come in handy if a disaster is approaching, there’s no reason to box up those precious memories prematurely.
“Something that matters so much to you, you’re not always just going to leave it in a safety-deposit box or in a box in your home, because you like it; you love it,” says Foley. “It’s something that you see or interact with. You don’t want [your wedding photos] stashed away somewhere.”
That’s where a list of items and their locations comes in handy, provided quickly getting to those items in an emergency does not put you or anyone else in further danger.
Could You Live Like a Minimalist?
“Something that matters so much to you, you’re not always just going to leave it in a safety-deposit box or in a box in your home, because you like it; you love it,” says Foley. “It’s something that you see or interact with. You don’t want [your wedding photos] stashed away somewhere.”
That’s where a list of items and their locations comes in handy, provided quickly getting to those items in an emergency does not put you or anyone else in further danger.
Could You Live Like a Minimalist?
A demonstration of salvaging wet textiles at the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico in March 2018. Photo by Stacy Bowe, Smithsonian Institution.
Facing flood damage
No matter how special your great-uncle’s embroidered handkerchief is, making sure that you, your family and your pets are safe and evacuated in the face of an emergency is always more important. Running back into the house as a bushfire or hurricane is approaching to round up more boxes or keepsakes is never worth the risk, Foley emphasises. But even if a fire or flood sweeps through, all is not necessarily lost.
In the case of a flood or storm damage specifically, some personal items may be salvageable if homeowners remember a few important things.
Facing flood damage
No matter how special your great-uncle’s embroidered handkerchief is, making sure that you, your family and your pets are safe and evacuated in the face of an emergency is always more important. Running back into the house as a bushfire or hurricane is approaching to round up more boxes or keepsakes is never worth the risk, Foley emphasises. But even if a fire or flood sweeps through, all is not necessarily lost.
In the case of a flood or storm damage specifically, some personal items may be salvageable if homeowners remember a few important things.
- Once authorities have given the okay to re-enter your home, put safety first: Whenever you’re re-entering a disaster zone and retrieving items from water, the assumption has to be that everything is contaminated. Other risks include mould, which can be harmful, chemicals and electric shock.
- Always go in with a buddy: Never re-enter a flood-damaged home alone and always dress in protective clothing – long-sleeved shirts, long pants, waterproof boots, disposable vinyl or protective nitrile gloves, goggles, and face masks if you know mould is present (all these items are usually available at hardware stores).
- Rinse items with water: Generally, a wet object can be rinsed off with clean water if you have access to it.
- Use a brush or cloth for dry items: If an item is dry, you can clean off silt and debris using a soft brush or dab at it lightly with a damp cloth.
- Air-dry wet items indoors: Keep the windows open and turn your fans on if you have power. Do not dry items in the sun – it dries them too quickly, which can cause fading and other damage.
- Think about the space you’re working with: Consider how much space you have to spread out and address these items before choosing what can be salvaged. Is there room in the garage? On a table?
- Leverage your freezer: Mould can form within 48 hours. Immediately placing an item in the freezer, preferably with a frost-free setting, can stop mould from growing. It can also keep ink from running on documents, stop dyes from transferring in textiles and prevent books from swelling.
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- Consult an expert: Materials such as paintings, instruments, metal, glass, and furniture obviously can’t be frozen, so Foley recommends reaching out to a conservation expert with specific questions. Think something is past the point of saving? Double-check to make sure. “What really gets me so sad is to see pictures of debris piles outside people’s homes after a flood, for instance, and then to talk to them later only to have them realise, ‘You mean I could have saved that photo album after all?’” says Foley.
The site where the Lord family house once stood.
After a fire
Some fires, such as the Tubbs blaze that took the Lords’ home in October 2017, are so destructive that nothing can be saved. Others may allow for some careful salvaging of items. In the latter case, Foley says to keep a few things in mind.
After a fire
Some fires, such as the Tubbs blaze that took the Lords’ home in October 2017, are so destructive that nothing can be saved. Others may allow for some careful salvaging of items. In the latter case, Foley says to keep a few things in mind.
- Wear protective clothing: Dangers of sifting through fire-damaged debris include plastic toxicity, structural damage, lead-containing building materials, exposed asbestos, chemical residues and potentially mould if water was used to put out the fire. Protective clothing should be worn, especially gloves, face masks and goggles.
- Get started promptly: “The longer soot or ash sits on a surface, the more potential damage it incurs and the harder it is to remove,” says Foley.
- Handle objects as little as possible: A lot of handling further embeds soot into an object. Foley suggests moving things with trays or holding them in places that are normally hidden.
- Resist the urge to wipe off soot and ash: It will only embed the soot and ash and make the item harder to clean. Instead, use a vacuum cleaner, being careful not to let the nozzle touch the item. Skip the brush attachment too.
- Don’t unfold textiles: Precious fabrics, such as an inherited dress, quilt or rug, are tricky and should not be unfolded as that can further spread the soot and ash. These can be vacuumed as well, or you can consult a conservator.
- Use soot sponges: Special rubber soot sponges, which are available at hardware stores, can also be used to lift soot from surfaces. When a portion of the sponge is dirty, you can snip off that part then use the rest.
- Contain the smell of smoke: If some items have not been affected by fire, keep them away from items that have, as the smell of smoke can easily permeate unaffected items. Keep the windows open and circulating fresh air if the air outside is clear.
- Don’t tackle wet, sooty objects alone: If something valuable to you is sooty and wet from a fire hose or burst pipe, consult an expert. Attempting to clean or move those items on your own can cause further damage.
- Do what you can: If photographs are beyond saving – if they’re stuck to a glass frame, for instance – take digital photos of them and consult an expert. “It’s not the same,” says Foley, “but it’s at least something.”
Moving forward
The Lord family aimed to break ground on their new house in the months following the fire. Taylor Lord, who recently completed a master’s degree in architecture, helped contribute to its design. “We are so happy to just have a place to be right now,” says her sister Shelby. “Yes, it’s not the house that my dad built, but it’s a place for us to all be together. We’re lucky – we were one of the fortunate ones who got to get our animals out. We’re so grateful for that, so we’re really just starting to look positively at life.”
The photos Shelby took the night of the fire have been helpful not only to remember the beloved family home, but also to catalogue everything they had lost with their insurance company. It’s a pre-emptive step Gina would encourage people in a similar situation to take, along with really familiarising themselves with the fine print of their disaster coverage insurance policy.
The Lord family aimed to break ground on their new house in the months following the fire. Taylor Lord, who recently completed a master’s degree in architecture, helped contribute to its design. “We are so happy to just have a place to be right now,” says her sister Shelby. “Yes, it’s not the house that my dad built, but it’s a place for us to all be together. We’re lucky – we were one of the fortunate ones who got to get our animals out. We’re so grateful for that, so we’re really just starting to look positively at life.”
The photos Shelby took the night of the fire have been helpful not only to remember the beloved family home, but also to catalogue everything they had lost with their insurance company. It’s a pre-emptive step Gina would encourage people in a similar situation to take, along with really familiarising themselves with the fine print of their disaster coverage insurance policy.
Gina says she and her family will continue to mourn the other photos, books and treasures they lost, but the experience taught them to take nothing for granted.
“What’s that phrase? YOLO? You only live once. We quote that a lot,” says Gina. “Let’s go to Europe next year. Let’s open that bottle of wine. It really kind of grounds you and makes you reassess what’s really important. And even though we grieve the loss of things that will never be replaced, when it’s all said and done, we have each other and we have a great community out here.”
“What’s that phrase? YOLO? You only live once. We quote that a lot,” says Gina. “Let’s go to Europe next year. Let’s open that bottle of wine. It really kind of grounds you and makes you reassess what’s really important. And even though we grieve the loss of things that will never be replaced, when it’s all said and done, we have each other and we have a great community out here.”
Your turn
What possessions would you or have you saved in the minutes before disaster struck? Tell us in the Comments, share this story with your loved ones and join the conversation.
More
For more information on how to protect your home, read Future-Proofing: The New Components for a Disaster-Resilient Home
What possessions would you or have you saved in the minutes before disaster struck? Tell us in the Comments, share this story with your loved ones and join the conversation.
More
For more information on how to protect your home, read Future-Proofing: The New Components for a Disaster-Resilient Home
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My advice is YES. We did not and almost a year later are still waiting for the insurance to finish paying us. A friend of mine in the insurance business said the hire a public adjuster. We still may have to. And it’s not an easy job to go at alone and they will help
After the Black Saturday fires in Australia my neighbour and ourselves took a storage unit in the city area as we live in a fire prone area. We take approximately 10 plastic boxes each with our precious contents. Worth nothing to anyone else but irreplaceable for us. We have done this every year except this year as we have not had one fire ban day in Victoria. We share the cost of the storage this gives us a certain amount of peace of mind every year the same boxes come and go in December through to March or April depending on the fire situation I hope this may help someone.
We have a small grab box with things we think are important (passports, original birth certificates) including some cash (internet was down in the floods here in northern NSW for days so no EFTPOS). Other than people and animals my next thing would be artwork that is irreplaceable. I’m in the process of digitizing photos so hopefully in the future we will be all ok with those. Yes to food and water too. I was gobsmacked that folk here in reasonably remote locations ran out of food in two days! Talk about lack of preparation. We have three weeks of food at all times in case we are cut off.