Firefighter wins $1 million in sex bias suit

ATLANTA - A federal jury has awarded one of Atlanta&#39;s first female firefighters $1 million in a sex discrimination suit. <br> <br> Lt. Liz Summers, a 26-year veteran, was passed over for promotion to section chief three years ago. An independent selection committee had ranked her as the most qualified for two of 12 vacants positions inspections and investigations but men got both jobs. <br> <br> She sued the city and Fire Chief Winston Minor, and the jury agreed Thursday that she had been discriminated against. <br> <br> Her lawyer, Lee Parks, said he expects Summers to be promoted to section chief soon. <br> <br> ``I&#39;m very excited about my promotion, and I&#39;m hopeful that the monetary part of it will send a strong message to the department to tear down the glass ceiling that we have,&#39;&#39; Summers said. <br> <br> Rosalind Rubens Newell, deputy city attorney, said officials were surprised at the verdict and are deciding whether to appeal. <br> <br> Parks said evidence showed there are 35 women out of almost 900 sworn positions in the Atlanta Fire Department. <br> <br> Summers, a former school teacher from West Point, Ga., said she joined the department in 1977 for the challenge. One of her three children, Irving Reese, works as an arson investigator for the fire department.