Some of you may have seen the story in the news about the four firefighters who died fighting a forest fire in Washington. I saw the story on the news this morning, and then opened my email to find this note from the general manager of the radio station Annie and I volunteered at in Ellensburg.
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 14:48:57 -0700
From: Christopher Hull
Subject: Loss of a dear DJ and friendDear all,
This is to let you know, if you haven’t yet heard, that we lost Tom Craven last
night (Tuesday, July 10th, 2001). Aside from being a very well-loved and
respected DJ here at The ‘Burg, he was a long-time firefighter during peak fire
season every year.He was fighting a blaze that started small and erupted suddenly into a 2,500
acre nightmare. Unfortunately, Tom and 3 others were overtaken by the blaze
and were killed sometime around 6pm. The fire was apparently started by an
unattended campfire. I understand a national investigative task force will
soon be looking further into the cause of the fire.We at The ‘Burg are all very saddened by this news. Tom was a true friend, and
many of you remember how dedicated he was to his weekly rap and hip-hop show
called “Off ‘Da Hook” since he signed on board with us in the Fall of 1997.It goes without saying that he will be greatly missed. Tom leaves behind his
wife Evelyn and two young children, a daughter and a son. …The family will need time to grieve and not be overwhelmed by phone calls,
which is why I am not giving out the phone number.Thank you, and sorry for the bad news. Those of you who knew Tom, please keep
the family in your thoughts and prayers.Chris Hull
88.1 FM The ‘Burg
I wasn’t close with Tom (or Crave, as we called him at the station), but I always said hi to him, and on the occasions where we did speak, he was always very nice. Lots of people on the radio turn out to be jerks in real life, but everyone liked Crave. He was a cool guy who always seem genuinely friendly. He’ll be missed.
I'm a 30-year-old 
btw honey, I know I just called you and overwhelmed you, but I just realized I can’t go over the pass yet because of my ear…I know no one else cares, but he’s on the internet, not the phone…soo, I guess you don’t have to rearrange your weekend for me…sorry.please no one else travel to eastern wa. apparently it’s a fucking death trap.
July 11th, 2001 at 5:51 pm
I didn’t get any word from Chris… ah, for another time. I heard from Shawn about it, and just finished writing in my journal. Something in the back of my head told me to check here and see if you’d heard about it.Suck. :(
July 12th, 2001 at 12:22 pm
I’m sorry for your loss, Scott :~(
July 12th, 2001 at 7:04 pm
And as if that wasn’t enough, we got news that my cousin Deni was in a boating accident and is home with a fractured pelvis and a nasty puncture wound, my uncle Pat just about sliced his finger off on a saw, Deni’s husband Kris broke his hand (or wrist, I’m not sure) in a fight, one of Annie’s distant relatives died, and Sean’s CD player isn’t working.
July 13th, 2001 at 3:48 pm
His CD Player isn’t working?!
July 13th, 2001 at 3:51 pm
I work with a lot of knives… I won’t tell you about any wounding unless it needs more than 5 stitches, okay? Sounds like your plate is full.
July 13th, 2001 at 6:33 pm
hahaha excellent plan!
July 13th, 2001 at 11:17 pm
don’t forget to mention how my vestigial tail was broken in a fight, and the cast they set it in makes my butt look big :(
July 13th, 2001 at 11:18 pm
And Mr. Bread’s "third-person" switch got locked in the "on" position.Oh, and he busted his toe up real bad, too. Spent a couple days swapping injury and dorm stories with a friend from Oregon and his girlfriend, telling about how he’s broken, at one time or another, all his toes except the big ones, and then he walks barefoot into a 2×4.
July 15th, 2001 at 12:36 am
well, if you wanna be grossed out, go check out sean.killingmachines.org and read about my messed up fingernail.don’t. you don’t wanna know.
July 15th, 2001 at 7:22 am