By Kim Geiger
Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — With city officials calling on firefighters to help monitor students displaced by school closings as they travel to their new schools, the firefighters union has raised concerns that its members could be caught in the middle of street violence without proper training or equipment.
The Chicago Fire Department has in past years sent firefighters into the streets for a few days at the beginning of each school year as a show of support for nervous students and parents.
But this year, as part of Chicago Public Schools’ promise to beef up its Safe Passage program in conjunction with the closing of 53 elementary schools and one high school program, firefighters are being told to have a presence on certain school routes for the first three weeks of the new school year.
Full story: Firefighters union wary of expanded school security role