Both Sides of the Fire Line Memoir of a Transgender Firefighter

Bobbie Scopa spent close to five decades working through nearly every challenge a firefighter can face.

Scopa was a strike team leader for the Dude Fire in 1990, where six firefighters were tragically killed, and she served at Ground Zero immediately after 9/11. She’s worked mountain rescues, city fires, mega-wildfires, and everything in between.

While battling conditions and harsh flames on the outside, she also found herself waging a tougher battle on the inside. Scopa was torn between how to maintain the façade everyone expected of her and whether to live as her true self. “A hero firefighter can’t possibly be transgender, right?” she thought.

Both Sides of the Fire Line is Bobbie Scopa’s uplifting memoir of bravely facing the heat of fierce challenges, professionally and personally.

Bobbie Scopa is a retired firefighter, author, podcast host, and public speaker. She has forty-five years of firefighting experience and has received numerous professional awards and industry recognition, including Firefighter of the Year (1990) from the Professional Firefighters of Arizona; Governor’s Award, State of Arizona (1990); Certificate of Appreciation from the City of New York for work performed at the World Trade Center in 2001; and the Unit Citation Award for efficacy in the U.S. Forest Service (2014). She was a featured speaker at the U.S. Forest Service’s “Pride Outside” diversity, equity, and inclusion event in June 2021. She is also the host of the podcast BobbieOnFire.com. Scopa divides her time between Puget Sound, Washington, and Scottsdale, Arizona.

Part I: A Life Lost
1. The Dude
2. Hiding in Plain Sight
3. The Science Experiment
4. Killing Birds
5. Driving Blind
6. Holding on for Dear Life
7. The Unraveling
Part II: A Life Found
8. The Dance
9. The Search for Calm Water
10. The Spirit Leads
11. Finding Solid Ground
12. Looking for Love
13. Looking Ahead