Interview with June M. Kearney

The Philadelphia Fire Department (PFD) has a notable history of female firefighters and has made strides in diversity and inclusion. The first female dispatcher was hired in 1962, and in 1985, Paulette Kennedy became the department’s first female firefighter. As of 2021, women comprised about 12% of the approximately 2,800 employees in the PFD. Among these trailblazers is June M. Kearney, a veteran firefighter with 30 years of service. A proud transgender woman, June publicly came out in 2023 after years of inner struggle, isolation, and depression fueled by past experiences with transphobia and homophobia. Her transition was deeply personal but also transformative, reshaping not only her identity but her relationships, with her wife of 33 years, with her coworkers, and most importantly, with herself.

 

Today, she describes herself as more empathetic, peaceful, and authentic than ever before. June credits much of her journey to a strong support system, including her wife, her friend and fellow firefighter Lana Moore, and a growing network of nearly 100 transgender firefighters and EMS personnel with whom she co-leads a private support group. A passionate advocate for visibility, she was recently honored to represent the PFD at Philadelphia’s Trans Day of Visibility ceremony. Deeply committed to her profession and community, June continues to break barriers and inspire others, especially those who may feel alone in male-dominated fields. Her resilience, courage, and compassion make her not just a role model within the fire department, but a beacon of hope for anyone on the path to self-discovery. In this interview, June shares her journey as a firefighter and the struggles she has faced as a transgender woman in a male-dominated field.

 

Monika: Hello June! Thank you for accepting my invitation.

June: Thank you for having me! It’s an honor to be interviewed by you. I want to start by mentioning another trailblazer of the Philadelphia Fire Department, Battalion Chief Linda Long. She was the first woman to achieve the rank of Captain and later Battalion Chief in the PFD. She recently passed away after a years-long battle with brain cancer. She was an important figure in my life and one of the first people I came out to at work.

Monika: I still remember our first conversation, you were so shy and uncertain. Seeing you now, radiating confidence and happiness, is truly amazing. You've blossomed into such a strong and inspiring woman!

June: Thanks. I know I’ve come a long way since then. What really helped was having had my FFS and having a strong support system. I’ve finally been able to embrace my true self.

 

"I served my first 12 years with
the department as a paramedic before
switching over to being a firefighter."

 

Monika: You’re not my first firefighter interviewee. Twelve years ago, I had the honor of speaking with Lana Moore, a captain in the Columbus Division of Fire in Ohio, who served for 35 years. But no matter how many incredible women I meet in this field, I’m always in awe of the courage and resilience it takes to do what you and Lana have done. Your professional life must be filled with remarkable, life-saving moments.

June: Thanks for mentioning Lana. She and I are now friends. She was instrumental in my journey through transition and in helping me get up the courage to come out. When I was first considering transitioning, I thought I was the only trans firefighter in the world. I started searching the web to see if there were other trans firefighters or paramedics. One search led me to an article about a trans firefighter in Tacoma, WA. She had come out later in life as well. I found her on Facebook and basically spilled my guts to her. She referred me to Lana. Lana was a great listener and let me know that I wasn’t the only one. Through her, I was invited to join a group of other trans firefighters and medics on Facebook. That group now has nearly 100 members. I’m now a co-administrator of that group, and I facilitate a twice-monthly support group meeting via Zoom. If any of your followers are firefighters or emergency medical services (EMS) personnel and are interested in joining us, we can be found here. The group is private, and we have a thorough vetting process to protect our members’ anonymity.

Firefighting and EMS surely is an interesting career, with its ups and downs, and its fair share of excitement. I am proud to be able to serve my community.

I served my first 12 years with the department as a paramedic before switching over to being a firefighter when I was 39. During that time as a medic, I saw a lot of, let’s say, interesting things. I did much more life-saving in the ambulance and on medical calls than I ever did as a firefighter. But as a firefighter, I was exposed to much higher-risk situations where I had to put myself in danger. In either role, though, at the end of the day, it is my job, and I am happy that I can help people.

It has been an amazing ride, and I was able to rise up through the ranks. Today, I am a Battalion Chief, and I work in the 911 communications center.

Monika: Transitioning in such a male-dominated workplace as firefighting must have been incredibly challenging. Did you receive any reactions from both male and female fellow firefighters?

June: It was incredibly challenging. But what I figured out was that most of those challenges were self-imposed. I had held off on confronting my gender issues for decades due to a few episodes of blatant transphobia and homophobia that I had encountered during my many years in EMS and firefighting. I let those sporadic occurrences rule me. It was very isolating. I slowly withdrew. Times got very dark as my dysphoria became unbearable. I was suffering from severe depression and suicidal ideation. I was so scared of being found out at that time that I took Raloxifene (a selective estrogen receptor modulator) to stunt my breast growth during my first year of medical transition.

I made several attempts to end my life. One came after enduring a day of people close to me bashing a trans person who had been on the TV news. This was about five months into my medical transition. That night, I attempted to take my life. Thankfully, I was interrupted in time. After that, I worked hard to develop a thicker skin when it came to phobic behaviors.

 

"I had held off on confronting my gender issues for decades
due to a few episodes of blatant transphobia and homophobia."

 

A short time later, I came out privately to our Fire Commissioner, who assured me that the Department’s administration would lend me their full support when I decided to come out publicly. When I finally did come out to the Department officially in November of 2023, it went far better than expected. Most people have been respectful. The worst thing I’ve encountered is indifference. I know that people have said not-so-nice things behind my back, but face-to-face I’ve had no issues. Thankfully, the City of Philadelphia has some of the most robust protections for trans employees anywhere in the United States.

As far as how male and female members of the department have treated me, it has been interesting. My close male coworkers expressed concern that I had not sought their confidence and assistance when I was at my lowest. Fire departments are much like extended families, so we are often at each other’s weddings, baby showers, christenings, and funerals. It’s not uncommon for members of your fire crew to serve as groomsmen and bridesmaids, or even godparents. We’re that close. So some of my immediate coworkers were a bit disappointed that I didn’t feel as though I could confide in them. That was a surprise to me.

Monika: And how about your female coworkers?

June: It has also been interesting. In my current position, I work mostly with women. They have been incredibly accepting. My relationships with my female coworkers have definitely blossomed compared to before transition. I’ve also been welcomed into the LGBTQ+ community of the PFD.

Overall, my experience of coming out as trans in the Fire Department has been pretty good. Of all the bad things I thought were going to happen, virtually none of them have come to fruition. The City and the PFD administration have been very supportive. I was recently asked to represent the Department at our city’s Trans Day of Visibility ceremony at City Hall. I was not the only trans City employee there, either. There is a thriving group of transgender workers in the City government. It was an incredible honor and a great day for the trans community here in Philly.

Monika: Shifting to more personal questions, how did you choose the name June? Does it hold any special meaning for you, or was it more of an intuitive decision that just felt right at the time?

June: Actually, my wife picked it. I was testing out names, and one day she and I had a conversation about the name I was using at the time. She confided that she couldn’t stand it. I said to her, “Fine, you come up with something better.” She immediately replied, “June.” It instantly resonated with me, I was born in June, and it felt more age-appropriate. So it stuck, and June Marie Kearney is now my legal name.

Monika: Transitioning is not just a personal journey; it also reshapes our relationships, especially with those who support us. Have you noticed a shift in how people treat you since your transition?

June: I have noticed a change in the way people treat me, but that may have more to do with the changes in my personality since transitioning, rather than the change in my gender. For the most part, my relationships have improved. Since I came out, I’ve been much more at peace with myself, and this has made me more empathetic, compassionate, and far less angry and fearful. Before coming out, I was a very bitter and mean person. The most significant part of my journey through transition has been the improvement in my relationships.

 

"Since I came out, I’ve been much
more at peace with myself."

 

The biggest change has been in my relationship with my wife. For years before coming out, I had confided in her about the thoughts that we as trans people often have, that I was different, that I desired to be more feminine, and so on. She took all of this in and accepted me for who I was at the time. But I wasn’t the best husband. I treated her poorly and was misogynistic and unsupportive, not just to her, but to other women too. Through therapy, I later learned that this was a dysfunctional coping mechanism. I was resentful and jealous of the women in my life.

My wife is the one who saved my life. One night, when I was intent on ending it, she was able to intervene. We ended up back at our house, and that’s when the emotional scab was finally peeled away. She asked me, “Do you think you might be trans?” It was out in the open now, and there was no going back. I remember answering that I didn’t know, and she told me to get help. Shortly after that, I found a therapist who specialized in gender issues and PTSD, which I also suffer from. Five months into therapy, I finally said the words, “I am trans.”

After coming out to my wife, everything seemed like a whirlwind. How would our relationship survive, given our past? We both attended couples therapy and individual therapy. Sometimes it was helpful, other times it seemed to inflame things between us. But we persevered, and our unconditional love for each other carried the day. We’ve been together 33 years, and we’re still going strong.

END OF PART 1

PART 2

 

All photos: courtesy of June M. Kearney.

© 2025 - Monika Kowalska

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