Firefighter’s memory honored with CrossFit event at Jones Park

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - The Gulfport Fire Department and Harrison County Fire Rescue took part in a CrossFit event Saturday to honor one of their fallen brothers.

District Chief Mark Hilley died last year after a battle with COVID-19. He served more than 20 years with Gulfport Fire and was a battalion chief for Harrison County Fire Rescue. He was also a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.

The CrossFit training regimen was nicknamed Ogre76, and called on firefighters to complete a grueling list of 20 different exercises in sets of 76. Hilley’s nickname was Ogre and his gear number was 76.

“It was just a way we could basically put ourselves in an uncomfortable position and have to do something where we really have to dig deep to perform it. And that’s the way we felt we could really honor Mark by doing that for him,” said Gulfport Fire Battalion Chief Jason Edwards.

The Gulfport Fire Department plans to make this family event a yearly gathering.

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