(KMOX) - Flags across Missouri will be flown at half staff to honor the first known COVID-19 line-of-duty death in the state.
Billy Birmingham, 69, was an EMT for the Kansas City Fire Department and died on April 13 from COVID-19. He had responded to several service calls involving patients with the virus.
Gov. Mike Parson says flags will be at half-staff on Wednesday at firehouses across the state, all government buildings in Jackson, Cass, Clay and Platte counties and at the Fire Fighters Memorial of Missouri in Kingdom City.
"EMT Birmingham died heroically and selflessly in service to others," Parson said in a statement. "His death is a reminder to all of us to appreciate and thank the EMTs, paramedics, and all first responders who are serving on the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19."
EMT Birmingham served as a member of the Metropolitan Ambulance Services Trust (MAST) from 1998 to 2010 and continued his service as a member of the Kansas City Fire Department following the consolidation of MAST and KCFD in 2010. He was an ordained minister and founded Agape Love Ministries of Christ Unlimited in 2012. He was 69 years old and is survived by six children, 14 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.