After a fire, you have enough to worry about and your computers data should not be one of them. Most people who back up their computers data, keep their backups onsite. This creates a problem when a fire breaks out, the backups fragile plastic casings are the first to melt. This also means your backups are the first to go. This leaves the actual hard disk storage area to be the last resort on keeping your data. Of course the best way to protect yourself is to always keep a backup off-site, so in case of a disaster of any nature, you still have your information!

I grew up with my father being on the Perry Township Fire Department, then in 1990, started my own career in firefighting with Perry, later joining Evansville City Fire Department.  Over the years I have obtained my certifications as a Fire Instructor and a Fire Investigator and I've seen first hand how quickly a house or business' valuables can be lost.  Most of these people cannot even begin to think of all the items they actually lost in the fire and all of the valuable data that was on their computer.

One such instance was a fire that was fought back in 1988 at RSC Manufacturing, where as they arrived, the building was engulfed in flames. Even though the fire department was able to make a good stop, the fires heaviest damage was in the office area. Their computers were heavily damaged by water and smoke along with the heat of the fire was enough to melt all the plastic components of the computer. Even with all the damage, we were able to get the computers critical business information off the hard drive and move it to a new PC, where they were then able to safely retrieve their inventory and other business information.

Now, if this tragedy should ever happen to you, the first instinct is to turn the PC on and see if it works! Don't Go With Instinct!  The smoke that makes it into your computer through the air, contains all kinds of contaminants and they will cause a short in your computer, which would finish any chance of ever retrieving the data. 

So with these tips in mind, if this tragedy ever happens to you, simply contact us and we will get a salvage technician on-site to begin the salvage process. If you are not in the Evansville area, contact us and we will be glad to work out a plan to assist you in your time of need. I hope we never have you as a customer, at least not for this service, but should you need this service, we should be the first to call!

Gary Barr
Firefighter/Computer Consultant

Email Gary for questions or
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