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Prior to having pets and a partner I had a plan on how I could get them out quickly (my biggest fear is fire, so that's mainly what I planned around) but after getting married and having three pets, ultimately they would be low on the totem of what I would grab. I would be devastated if I had to leave behind my Minifee though. She was my first and most special. So I guess my answer your question is Plan A is try after everything living is safe go back for the dolls; and Plan B is totally heartbreak.

 

I live in Florida and during Hurricane Matthew, the roof was torn from the apartment while I was in it. I'd already pre-packed all my BJDs up safely in preparation of the storm, so I was able to get them to the car very quickly (after my cats, of course). The dolls survived the hurricane, the apartment did not.

In the event of a fire, I'd prioritize them after my pets...but a fire is not like a hurricane, which you know is coming and can prepare for. I hate to say it, but if a fire occurred, I'd more than likely lose all my dolls. Fire can spread so, so quickly, and risking my life isn't worth my dolls, as much as I love them!

So to answer your question: yes, I have utilized an emergency plan before to save my BJDs. If some truly random tragedy occurred though that I couldn't prepare for, I would have to accept their loss.

 

It's sad (and probably a bit heartless) but if I had to evacuate my house because of a disaster, I would probably leave them behind in a heartbeat.

Realistically speaking, my body is pretty weak and I live with two aging parents, one of them very sick and in need of various medication and other medical equipment. It would take all I have to just take supplies and it already may not be enough. A doll would just be dead weight, weight that I couldn't afford (and I only have SDs!). My best bet would be, provided I have the time to do that, is to put them in sturdy boxes/a safe and pray that I can come back for them?

So final answer: if disaster strike, my dolls are probably toast, but I will try to plan for a safe place to store them in hopes that I could come back to them.

It's a very good topic idea!

 

I use to worry about this a lot! I have the same fear of a house fire, I live in an old house with old wiring, hopefully I can upgrade really soon. I believe I wouldn’t be able to save any of my collection or material items in this situation. My biggest concern would be to ensure my family and pets made it to safety and having prepared emergency items and papers.
I also live in a flood prone area so every Spring my home has a danger of becoming flooded by the nearby river. This however is easier to plan for as items with value could be moved to safer places before the spring thaw and flooding is expected.
For disasters like fire I could possibly be able to save one special doll that I would be able to grab with my emergency things but what a hard decision it would be to make as to which one makes it out with me!
In order to stop my constant worry and playing sceneries in my head I basically accepted that it would be a loss and as long as myself and family are safe it will be okay.

 

And these are (to me) the words of wisdom!

 

It's sad but now I don't have such a plan at all and my dolls "live" in their boxes under my bed which isn't exactly the easiest place to reach quickly and grab them in case of real emergency. So I just hope nothing that serious happens and it's not like I worry a lot about it honestly. No one is 100% safe from accidents but they are still quite rare occasions (at least in individual's life, I'm not talking about humanity as a whole). Still, maybe I should think about some other place to keep my dolls. I want them to be safe, even though I worry much less than I did before....
Anyway, this thread reminded me about a situation some 7 years ago when I was basically waken up by my dad's call. He told me to grab my documents and be ready to evacuate from our flat since our neighbor had some problems with gas stove and called emergency. I was scared and immediately thought about grabbimg my then only one doll and escaping the flat with him. Now it feels funny for some reason. Probably because the problem was solved without any consequences and I didn't even have to leave my apartments.

 

Honestly, I've never given it a second thought. I live in Ohio, where the only real potential natural disaster is tornadoes...and if the siren goes off, the only things I'm grabbing to head down to the basement with are my family and pets. The dolls and everything else I own will just have to fend for themselves. Same thing if my house catches fire. Not to say that my dolls aren't important to me, but in the grand scheme of things, they're just inanimate blobs of resin. The love that I feel for them is infinitesimal compared to that regarding the living beings in my life. And hey, I do have homeowner's insurance! At least I'd be able to replace the cost, even if not the actual dolls...

 

This was a topic we had sometimes on doll meets. Usually the consensus was "save people/pets first" for the ones who had other living in their place/had pets. Once that was out of the way, usually people said they would try to grab maybe the one that means the most to them.

I currently live alone, so pets and such are not an issue. If I would get a chance to rush in a last time to pick up stuff, I could probably take a laundry hamper and just toss in some of the dolls that mean the most to me (next to other stuff I might think I should maybe take, like my folder with important paper work). Back then my answer was usually to save the commissions I had at that time first, because the idea someone else could lose the doll they entrusted onto me was way worse than losing my own
No commissions now, so I can take some of my mine hastily out of their cabinets.

However, I think what's more interesting is what people would do after such a thing. When a catastrophe completely destroys your collection.
I personally would probably give up on the hobby. When you collect for so many years you acquire things you can never get again.
I have outfits that have been made by artists that long left the hobby. Some very rare dolls, one of them being unique and by an artist that doesn't sell anymore too. Starting from the ground up again? God, no thanks.
And even if I would decide to later dabble in it again, I would not rebuy any of my old dolls. Just, wouldn't feel the same and knowing I can't get all their old wigs, eyes, outfits again? No thanks

 

Right now I only have the one doll, so it's a bit easy to think I could grab it after getting my cat into a cat carrier. Although that is assuming I have the time for a pet carrier and time to grab items, rather than just a "wake my partner, grab the cat, and run" situation. My doll would be lower than grabbing my folder of important documents, like my passport, but higher than like.. grabbing my plants, which are also extremely important to me.

 

For unplanned emergency, most likely I won't even think of my dolls and leave them behind. I have their COA in a fire and water proof safe and a digital copy. The doll themselves, I would just leave to luck and hope they we okay since I can't really fit any of my doll into a safe. It would be devastating to lose them but I can always start over.

For planned emergency (like hurricane), my plans is to pack all my doll heads and some limited outfit and leave the bodies behind. Even though the bodies cost more, I think they are easier to replace than the heads I have - most of them are limited. Plus without the body, I can work with a lighter bag/box to travel with.

 

This is a pretty poignant given the city where I live has been subject to fire and now flood warnings. Yay . I live in an all adult household with no pets/dependents. Personally I'd prioritise valuable identity docs/purse and medication. But I'd definitely try to grab my doll and other key sentimental items.

The doll isn't packed away so I'd legitimately run out with what he was wearing and say goodbye to the COA/other pair of hands.

 

I really like this plan, it's a really good idea. It's the heads that are the most irreplaceable to me, particularly those with custom face-ups.

My dolls are close to where my important docs are right now, so given enough warning I could grab them on the way. In an emergency situation, as much as I love them, they don't rank all that high as far as necessity goes.

 

As sad as it would be, in the case of a fire or some other disaster I would definitely prioritise my family and pets over my dolls. At the end of the day, my dolls can be replaced, but my pets and family members can't.

 

I see I'm not in the minority when I say, the first thing I think about is my cats whenever my apartment alarm indicate a fire (it's always been preventative thank goodness!). I am *such* a "things" person and the list of things I would be devastated to lose in a disaster circumstance is very long, but I probably really don't have to explain that if I get out with my cats I will have done everything I believed was right.

My number 2 & 3 items would probably be snatching *something* off my wedding-keepsake shelf, and my phone/computer (auuugh my business stuff - I REALLY should buy cloud storage).

I honestly think if I had the mind in me, and the time, a couple 100% irreplaceable childhood stuffed animals would be in my arms, prior to my dolls. I don't know how I could handle losing my Daly the Dalmatian that's been with me from before I can remember.

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That all being said - I want to add something that hasn't been brought up that I believe is excessively helpful to know or look into:

At least in the US, renters insurance covers many types of losses, and so about once a year I take a walk through and snap as many photos as I can of rooms in all directions, open drawers and cabinets, dig around, and make sure I have images of everything I own. If something devastating were to occur, this would allow me to go through the images and methodically make a spreadsheet of all the items I managed to photograph, as well as remind me what exactly they were - and with proof I owned it all in those photos. SO much easier than trying to remember details after experiencing trauma!

In many cases, if you're able to list out the specific brands/items/values/replacement costs, your renters insurance will reimburse you appropriately, and for highly valued collectibles, you can list replacement cost instead of purchase cost (ie. if I owned an old Volks that now sells for 4K, I can share the Ebay link to one for sale now, or a previous sale/similar doll). It may not bring the doll back, but that's a whole lot better situation and worth the effort to go through than purely taking the loss.

Again, I don't know what renters insurance looks like (or if it's required) in places outside of US, but I highly recommend detailed photos and accounting for anyone who looks around and says to themselves, yep, losing any of my stuff would be suffering both a physical and monetary loss.

 

My roommate (who also owns dolls) and I have two cats and a dog. If there is time to go back after the cats have been rounded up and shoved into their carriers and everyone is safe, there is still literally no way in the world to get all my dolls out. I have far too many, plus the three drawers of spare parts, extra heads and even a body drawer. I do have a "top 5" I could grab and run with if there is the opportunity to do so. It would be sad as hell to leave the rest behind, but as long as my real babies are safe (the cats and dog) that's all that matters.

 

My only real plan is to keep emails, receipts, and pictures of my dolls in google docs, so if the worst happens, and they don't make it out...at least I can claim them on the insurance and try and buy again what I've lost. It's not the same, but it's a small assurance that not all would be lost. Some dolls, I'm sure, would be near impossible to replace, but if a small possibility remains...well, that's what you hold onto. As much as these dolls mean to me, I have to assume I can't save them so I don't lose my head; and get out what needs to be first. (Pets, bf, the car...)

 

Realistically I have too many BJDs to grab them all. So what I've done is keep some favorites in my room, while the rest live in cabinets in the basement. Even then, I could only grab a few during an evacuation, but at least I'd have something.

Without pets, there aren't any 'possessions' that I would prioritize above my BJDs, on the basis that anything else is easier to replace. I'd grab my Bible, phone, wallet, and laptop, which again are all in my room and at arm's length. I have too many toy collections to bring them all, but anything that's a large favorite I keep close by.

I find it interesting that many of us have that deep, psychological fear of fire, even if it has never happened to us. Perhaps because it's the most urgent? You can't take time to pack like you would with a flood or hurricane, or hunker down in your cellar for a tornado. You more or less have to evacuate immediately. If you're lucky, you have time to shove some things in a bag before you go.

We have had a few close brushes with tornados and repeated flooding here over the years. I often contemplate, "If the house was burning" or "If you had to sell most of your stuff". It's a good tool in determining who to keep and who to sell.

 

Honestly I probably would not save them in the case of an emergency. When I am in a rush they are the last thing to cross my mind. Not that I'm not attached to my collection, but moving them is awkward even when doing it "leisurely". Also as everyone mentioned, they are ultimately replaceable and there are more important things I think I would need to grab.

I don't have a very large collection and I don't have an emergency plan worked out for them. But I like the idea of saving the heads and ditching the bodies if I really had the time and some extra space to pack them.