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Appeals court affirms ruling for fired firefighter Wednesday Dec 19, 2001 at 2:00 AM Dec 17, 2010 at 12:21 PM JILL BRISKEY,Mail Tribune Five years after her termination, the Oregon Court of Appeals upheld a judge's ruling that Medford Fire Department discriminated against Kris Ettner because she was a woman. "I am relieved," said Ettner, who is now a Grants Pass police officer. "Now that (the fire department) has been held accountable, I'm hoping they will change their hiring and retention practices." In 1999, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Orf ruled in favor of Ettner, who was fired in 1996 despite successfully completing a one-year probationary period with the fire department. The city appealed the ruling to the state, and three appellate court judges reviewed the evidence independently of the first civil trial. Their decision was announced Dec. 5. The city could petition the case before the Oregon Supreme Court or cut Ettner a check for $26,210 in back wages and pay her attorney's fees. "No final decision has been made," City Attorney Ron Doyle said Tuesday. Doyle said he couldn't comment about the ruling, but added that a decision will be made in one or two months. Ettner's attorney, Lee Werdell, said the case against his client reflects a twice-proven history of discrimination within the fire department. "The city has had two shots at this same issue based on the same evidence and they've lost both times," Werdell said. Before working for Medford, Ettner served as a seasonal firefighter for the state from 1985 to 1989 while attending Southern Oregon State College. She had also worked as a firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service and a private company in Josephine County. A jury ruled in favor of the city on a separate claim that Ettner had also suffered discrimination on the basis of "perceived disability." Orf said at the time of the trial that Medford's fire department held Ettner to a higher standard than her male counterparts and illegally fired her. Orf also accused the department of using a highly subjective grading system to justify her termination. Ettner was the second female firefighter to work for the Medford Fire Department. In 1979, the fire department fired trainee Sara Smith one year after she was hired on the grounds that she was too weak. Smith was the first female firefighter in Southern Oregon. She never filed a court action. In September of 1996, Ettner was hired by the city of Grants Pass Department of Public Safety, where she completed her probationary period and passed her task tests to become a firefighter. She first worked as a firefighter and later joined the police force. On Tuesday, Ettner said she plans to volunteer for the Grants Pass Fire Department. She also has been working with the city, urging women and minorities to consider firefighting careers in Grants Pass. "It does take a strong-willed and physically strong woman to do the job," Ettner said. "I'm very pleased to work for a department that appreciates their employees." Only two women serve as full-time paid firefighters at fire departments in the Rogue Valley. One works for Medford and another is employed by Ashland Fire and Rescue. That total does not include volunteer departments. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail