Two North Davis Fire District firefighters jumped from an airplane Saturday, Oct. 17, to honor a colleague who died in a BASE jumping accident in September.
Monte Mayeux and Chris Correa joined eight other firefighters at Skydive Utah for a tribute to 27-year-old Gabe Reilly, a Salt Lake City Fire Department firefighter known for his love of skydiving and BASE jumping, ABC4 reported.
Ross Mitchell, founder of the nonprofit Leaps of Hope and a close friend of Reilly's, organized the event. Mitchell said Reilly had spent years trying to convince his firefighter friends to join him in the sky.
"We could ask him to do the nasty job, and he'd put gloves on and a smile on his face," Correa told ABC4.
Correa said the jump gave him a rare chance to disconnect from the pressures of everyday life. Mayeux said skydiving has helped him work through difficult moments in his own life, adding that overcoming the anxiety of jumping from a plane helped him manage everyday stress.
Leaps of Hope, a nonprofit organization, uses skydiving to support first responders, veterans and survivors of childhood abuse. According to Skydive Magazine, the group had taken 17 candidates on first skydives and awarded seven scholarships for accelerated freefall training as of early 2026.
The nonprofit sponsors first tandem jumps and funds wind tunnel training for select participants. It works with firefighters, paramedics and police officers on stress relief and resilience.
Mitchell said he hopes to make the skydiving tribute an annual event. He also wants it to raise awareness about first responder mental health, a cause Reilly cared about, according to ABC4.
The tribute was personal for many. Alex Dale, a Salt Lake City firefighter, said he and Reilly had talked about skydiving together. Dale said he was nervous about jumping from roughly 9,000 feet but drew courage from thinking about how Reilly would have approached it.
Mitchell plans to continue honoring Reilly's memory through Leaps of Hope's work with first responders. Residents interested in supporting the organization can visit leapsofhope.org.
