A long federal court battle over allegations of racial discrimination surrounding two Buffalo Fire Department promotional exams may finally be near an end.

U. S. District Judge John T. Curtin this week issued orders dismissing legal challenges filed by the Men of Color Helping All Society, a group of African- American Buffalo firefighters.

The society claims that the exams for fire lieutenant promotions in 1998 and 2002 were illegal because they had a discriminatory impact on Afri-

can-Americans. Only a handful of minorities passed the tests.

Meanwhile, many white firefighters feel they were unfairly passed over for promotions because of the long legal fight over the fairness of the exams.

Curtin ruled this week that the exams were valid tests of the skills needed for a Fire Department lieutenant, and he found “insufficient” evidence to prove that the city intentionally engaged in discrimination.

“We’re very pleased with the outcome,” said Adam W. Perry, a Buffalo attorney who was hired by the city to handle the case. “A loss in this case could have cost the city millions of dollars. All of the components that have been put before the court regarding the disparate impact of the tests and intentional discrimination have now been resolved.”

Curtin, 88, has been ailing and out of the courthouse in recent months, but he has been working on cases from home with his law clerks.

The issue has been hotly contested for 12 years. The society has the right to appeal, and the organization intends to do so, said the group’s attorney, Thomas S. Gill of Frederick, Md.

Gill said his clients still feel that the two promotional exams “were not based on meaningful information from the Buffalo Fire Department on what a fire lieutenant actually does.”

“The client has authorized me to appeal. My feeling is that Judge Curtin went far afield from what other courts have done,” Gill said.

Society members have long alleged that African-Americans seeking promotions do not receive fair treatment in the city, an allegation that the city has denied.

The issue of race in firefighter promotions was addressed by the U. S. Supreme Court in a decision that received widespread publicity last June.

In that case, the high court ruled that the fire department in New Haven, Conn., acted illegally when it tossed out the results of a promotional exam because only a small number of minorities passed the exam.

The Supreme Court ruled that white firefighters who passed the New Haven test were unfairly punished when the test results were thrown out.

Curtin mentioned that Supreme Court decision briefly in his ruling on the 1998 exam but did not cite it as having any role in his decision. Perry said he does not believe the Supreme Court ruling had any real impact on either Buffalo case.

In New Haven, officials acted out of fear that lawsuits would be filed, while in Buffalo, the Fire Department was already under a court order to refrain from discriminating by race, Perry said.

In a case still pending in state court, 13 white firefighters contend that they were unfairly blocked from promotions to lieutenant because the city allowed a promotional list from the 2002 exam to expire.

Andrew P. Fleming, attorney for those firefighters, could not be reached to comment Thursday. He has said he hopes that case will eventually result in promotions and back pay for his clients.

Perry said he did not know how much money his law firm, Hodgson Russ, has received for working on the long-standing cases. He said the firm charges the city about $225 an hour, a “municipal rate” that is lower than what the firm charges most clients.