WIMBERLEY, Texas — When a disaster hits, your first concern is your life and then your things, but what about our digital stuff?
They can sometimes be overlooked which, is where this Wimberley man comes in.
In this digital life of ours, so many things are connected to a computer. And hard drives that have been through a fire may look destroyed to you. But to Dock Vickers, this is just another challenge.
"We're gonna be able to get files off of that one," said Vickers, who was trying to recover files from drives that were recovered from a burned building.
"When I read about that fire, I went ahead and reached out to Smithville," he said.
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A month ago, the fire destroyed the town's train museum and Chamber of Commerce.
"It was bad enough to create flashover, which is where the surrounding air becomes hot enough that things just ignite," he said.
But, from the ashes, Vickers tries to recover the data.
It's a project he calls Laura's Hope. For the last four years, he's recovered hundreds of drives for free for anyone who has gone through a disaster. All in the name of his late fiancée.
"She passed away September of 2014 on the 16th, and at that point, I lost everything," said Vickers. "Laura's last words to me ... sorry ... were, 'It's gonna be alright.' When we were together and I would work with a customer, she would elbow me and remind me to tell the customer, 'Everything's gonna be alright.'"
PHOTOS: Man recovers files in wake of disasters
So while he can't get every file back, he uses his skills to help others fight through a challenging point in their lives.
"Looking at the kind of damage I was looking at, this was a really a good day," he said.
Reminding himself of one thing as he works.
"No matter how much you've lost, there's always something you can give," Vickers said.
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