Michele Kaemmerer, first transgender LAFD captain, dies at 80. Michele Kaemmerer on the job in 1997. ... died May 21 at age 80 of heart disease at her home in Bellingham, Wash.

Michele Kaemmerer, first transgender LAFD captain, dies at 80. ... She joined the LAFD in 1969 — long before she transitioned in 1991 — and became a captain 10 years later.