The New York Fire Department has hired its first transgender employee.
Brooke, a third generation firefighter (her father is still active with FDNY), will be working at Metrotech headquarters, where only 32 other women are employed reports the New York Post.
Though she was originally assigned to Ladder 172/Enginge 330 in Bensonhurst, Brooke (whose full name was withheld by the Post), is now stationed at FDNY headquarters where she schedules appointments for recruits.
In a written statement to the newspaper Brooke said, "I am appreciative of the support that the FDNY has given me during this time in my life. However, it is my expressed wish that the details of my personal and professional life remain private."
The FDNY has openly gay and lesbian firefighters and in recent years started an outreach program to aggressively recruit LGBT employees, but Brooke is the first trans firefighter in NYC.
A veteran firefighter told the paper that while some around the firehouse have been heard calling Brooke "it," he feels that, "Especially among those who know the [family], this won’t amount to a hill of beans to them... There’s a lot of respect for the family.”