Very very sorry to hear about that! I hope they all are okay at least! My grandparents had a house fire, they were very fortunate and did not lose everything, but had quite a bit of damage. It is very scary and devestating for sure! Also a good friend of mine lost EVERYTHING. Luckily everybody got out okay, but like you said, psychologically is a very different story. They are now living in an apt and doing okay, waiting for their house to basically be rebuilt. Its very very tough, especially this time of year.
Our insurance agent recommended taking a video camera and taping all of our things so its on record, she says its very very hard to remember every single thing in such a devestating unfortunate event. Now I just need to take the tape to a safe place. We have a fire safe box, but we lost the key! Also they make fire and WATER resistant boxes as well.
Another idea is a safe deposit box, my in-laws put a lot of valuable information and things in theirs. My mom has a fire resistant safe that she keeps all her important things in.