By FireRescue1 Staff
LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — A fire department promoted a paramedic to captain while he was serving overseas.
The Kansas City Star reported that Lee’s Summit Fire Department used FaceTime to promote paramedic Ben Hicks to captain, who is serving with the Missouri National Guard 7,500 miles away in Qatar.
Family members, friends and colleagues gathered to watch Capt. Hicks take the oath from Chief Rick Poeschl in real time on a big screen. Capt. Hicks’ family accepted his red captain’s helmet on his behalf.
The department said that Capt. Hicks, who had been testing for the position before being deployed, will return to take his position in early 2018.