First suggestion: Get a job with a company that is not computer illiterate (that's being polite).

Suggestion two: The backup data, how was it backed up? You said 2 of 3 drive were damaged. Was the backed up data on the undamaged drive? It might be worth considering recovering that data. If the orange glow did come from metal heat (you said you needed to let the equipment cool down), then the disk platters are probably heat warped.

Suggestion three: The old equipment, can you recover any data from that source?

Lesson learned: Never delete a backup, until you have a backup to take its place.

For data recovery services you can consult Stellar Information. They are capable of recovering data from virtually any kind of data loss situation, from logical media crashes Or Accidental re-partitioning to physical media crashes caused due to mal-function of Read/Write Head assemblies and PCB/Logic Board failures.
Stellar has evolved a strict documented process as per ISO 9001:2000 norms to ensure confidentiality, consistency & transparency each time every time.
So I think there is no issue sending your hard drive to them as your data would be kept confident.
For more information visit: Stellar - Hard Disk Data Recovery Services

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