PixyJack Press has announced publication of “Surviving Wildfire: Get Prepared, Stay Alive, Rebuild Your Life – A Handbook for Homeowners” (ISBN: 978-1936555154), by Linda Masterson; a practical prescription for homeowners living with wildfire risk who want to know how to be better prepared, stay alive when wildfire threatens and have what they’ll really need to start over if disaster strikes.
Masterson’s Colorado home burned to the ground in 2011. “My husband and I lost everything but each other. On the road to recovery we had to come to terms with all the things we should and could have done that would’ve made starting over much easier,” says Masterson. “I wrote ‘Surviving Wildfire’ so no one else will have to learn those lessons the hard way.” One of those valuable lessons is unraveling how home insurance really works in a major loss and the high price many homeowners pay for being underinsured and undocumented.
Increasing wildfire danger, persistent drought and cuts to Federal fire-fighting resources make Linda Masterson’s very timely for all home owners who live in any regional U.S. “fire country.”
“Surviving Wildfire should be required reading for anyone who lives in the WUI,” says Fourmile Canyon Fire Recovery Manager Garry Sanfacon.
“No one believes their home will burn down in a wildfire,” says the author, “but every year thousands of homes do.” Research shows that more than half of the people who stand in the ashes of their dreams discover that they don’t have enough insurance to rebuild their home and replace everything they lost.
Masterson uses down-to-earth language to explain the difference between replacement cost and actual cash value, what the various schedules actually cover, and how to make sure your home is adequately insured, your stuff is properly documented and you have all the information you’ll need to start over. If your home is damaged or destroyed, insider tips show how to collect everything due under the terms of your insurance policy.
Other tips for being better prepared include how to create and maintain the right amount of defensible space and steps you can take now to give your home a better chance of surviving a fire. From using gravel mulch, non-flammable deck furniture and smart landscaping to installing visible address signs and registering all phones for reverse 911 calls, “Surviving Wildfire” gives valuable information you can put to use now, including simple ways to document all your belongings, back up your computer files, and then safely store all data off-site.
“Surviving Wildfire” also covers how to create a family disaster plan and assemble your personal Vital Information and Emergency kits, so you’ll know what to do, what to take, and how and when to safely evacuate when wildfire threatens. There’s even a sobering look at how to survive if you are trapped at home, in your car or out in the open. The appendix includes numerous resources for homeowners.
“The combination of the author’s real-life experience and her diligent research makes Surviving Wildfire a very helpful handbook for people living with the risk of wildfire,” says Michele Steinberg, National Manager of the Firewise Communities Program.
Overview of Contents:
– Assessing Your Risk;
– Firewise Building and Remodeling;
– Defensible Space You Can Live With;
– Advance Planning: A Pound of Prevention Can Save a Ton of Trouble;
– Evacuation Essentials: What to Take, When to Leave, How to Escape;
– Insurance: How Much You Need, What It Covers, How It Works;
– Filing a Claim: Insider Tips and Tactics;
– Recovery: Picking Up Your Pieces and Starting Over.
“Surviving Wildfire: Get Prepared, Stay Alive, Rebuild Your Life (A Handbook for Homeowners)” by Linda Masterson is published by PixyJack Press. A companion pocket guide, “Get Wildfire Smart,” is also available (Book $16.95; Book with Pocket Guide $19.95). Wholesale discounts offered to HOAs, fire departments, communities and anyone needing a tool to motivate and educate. Get more information at: http://www.SurvivingWildfire.com/ .
About the Author:
Award-winning author and researcher Linda Masterson tackles a subject she knows all too well in Surviving Wildfire: Get Prepared, Stay Alive, Rebuild Your Life (A Handbook for Homeowners). Masterson’s home and 72-acre tree farm burned to the ground in a Colorado wildfire in 2011, leaving her with little but her laptop and a fierce determination to get back on her feet and get on with her life.
Masterson has always specialized in turning the complex into the comprehensible. In her job as director of Strategic Planning for Ketchum Communications she provided insight and direction to clients ranging from Procter & Gamble to Campbell Soup.
The author will be appearing at Firewise Backyards & Beyond Conference, November 14-16, 2013.
This article version is Copr. © 2013 by Christopher L. Simmons and Neotrope. Originally published on PublishersNewswire.com.
