United States (California) - A federal court jury on Friday awarded nearly $2.5 million to a woman who was forced out of the Fresno Fire Department's training academy in 2005, finding she was the victim of gender discrimination. Michelle Maher, 39, flashed a broad grin to her two children after the verdict was read in U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger's courtroom. She later hugged jurors, who said they thought Maher got a raw deal from the department.

"If this isn't a wake-up call [to the Fire Department], I don't know what would be," Maher said outside of court.

The verdict marks another gender-discrimination win for Oakland-based attorney Dan Siegel, who has represented or helped represent several women in gender-discrimination suits against California State University, Fresno. Among them are former Fresno State volleyball coach Lindy Vivas and former women's basketball coach Stacy Johnson-Klein.

After Friday's verdict from the five-woman, three-man panel, Siegel said it is fair to compare Maher's verdict to those against Fresno State. Leaders of both institutions, he said, do not take responsibility for their actions.

Siegel singled out Fresno Fire Chief Randy Bruegman, who he said talks about gender equity but doesn't put it into practice. He said not a single woman has been hired since Bruegman became chief seven years ago, and during that time, the number of women on the force has dropped from 12 to eight out of a force of around 320.

"Unfortunately there are some public agencies in Fresno that haven't gotten the message about gender equality," Siegel said. "I hope this sends the message."

Bruegman referred calls to the City Attorney's Office. City Attorney Jim Sanchez did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.

But in closing arguments, Greg Myers, who represented the Fire Department, said the academy leaders wanted Maher to succeed and did their best to accommodate her. In the end, Myers said, she didn't meet department standards.

"I would hope you're not going to reward Ms. Maher for her mistakes," Myers told jurors.

Maher, a single mom and former professional mixed-martial arts fighter, sued the Fire Department early last year, saying fire training academy supervisors repeatedly asked her personal questions, set her up to fail certain tasks and unfairly graded an exam. Male candidates were not subjected to the same treatment, her suit said.

When Maher started the 20-week course in September 2005, she already had passed the nine-month Fresno City College Fire Academy, was a certified EMT and had obtained 13 certificates in firefighting skills.

During her time at the academy, Maher says a supervisor repeatedly asked her about her divorce and suggested she was not giving her full effort in the academy because she was a single mom.

About midway through the academy, Maher said she was told that because she had scored below 80% on her most recent quiz, she had to get at least an 80% on a midterm examination or else she would fail the academy. She said she scored a 78% on the test.

Maher was asked to either resign or be terminated from the academy. She resigned.

After the three-week trial, jurors said they felt Maher was not given adequate time to prove herself at the academy. They also felt evaluations were inconsistent, men in the academy were given extra chances to improve in weak areas, and nobody from the Fire Department could pinpoint department standards.

"There are terrible inconsistencies in how the entire academy was handled," said one juror, who asked not to be identified.

Still to be decided are Siegel's attorney fees, which are separate from the jury's award to Maher.

As for Maher, she said she no longer wants to be a firefighter. She is now pursuing a master's degree in early childhood education, and plans to resume her mixed-martial arts training.

Written by The Fresno Bee