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 friend

Dear 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.