Wildfire case archive · Fire damage · Level 5
8TB Western Digital Bushfire Recovery Case Study
An 8TB Western Digital drive was recovered from a house lost to bushfire. Its enclosure had melted and the drive was covered in soot. It was not powered on afterwards.
The family’s photograph and video library was recovered.
What failed
An 8TB Western Digital drive was recovered from a house lost to bushfire. Its enclosure had melted and the drive was covered in soot. It was not powered on afterwards.
The recovery work
The chassis was cleaned, the scorched board was replaced with the original ROM information carried across, and the helium seal was kept intact. Controlled imaging followed.
The work addressed the enclosure and electronics while preserving the sealed drive assembly. That route was possible for this particular device; an enclosure’s appearance alone cannot show the condition of the recording surfaces.
What the result means
The family’s photograph and video library was recovered.
This was the result for one assessed drive. It is not a recovery guarantee for another device with similar symptoms. The original summary does not provide a turnaround time or a historical invoice, so neither is inferred here.
If your drive has a similar problem
Leave a fire-damaged drive disconnected and keep the enclosure, original electronics and detached parts. Tell the laboratory about heat, soot, firefighting water and any earlier cleaning before arranging delivery.
How a similar job is quoted today
Fire and flood cases are Level 5 and individually quoted. An upfront fee reflects the approved complexity and scope, with any success fee stated in the written quote. Call 1300 806 557 to discuss the device.
Your priority files, the condition of the device and the required work define the written scope. Any success fee depends on meeting the agreed recovery criteria.
Source: Wildfire’s existing published recovery-case summary. Laboratory photographs are labelled as illustrations. Published by Wildfire Data Recovery.