Sirens blaring, fire engines raced ...

Sirens blaring, fire engines raced to Chicago Vocational Career Academy more than 40 times this past seminary year -- roughly once each four school days. The reason?

Usually, if not always, one prankster had pulled a fire alarm.

In May, a fire alarm disrupted CVCA's final exams. repeatedly kids and teachers there say, alarms were haped so kids could go outside and fight. Fire alarms preced fights at other Chicago public high trains as well.

The fire alarm record at Chicago Vocational -- the worst in the combination of parts to form a whole -- is just one reason Chicago Public instructs CEO Arne Duncan has ordered a crackdown in succession prank fire alarms this coming institute year.

"Having the same alarm pulled at one exercise is one too many," Duncan said.

"It wastes Fire Department resources. It imposes pedestrians and people in traffic at risk. It's crying wolf and it is extraordinarily disruptive to teaching."

Records from the city's 911 center obtained on the Chicago Sun- Times in subordination to a Freedom of Information Act asking showed a 25 percent caper in the number of fire alarms that drew firefighters to the city's public high place of educations this past school year.

Usually, couple engines, two trucks and a fifth vehicle, holding a battalion chief, sp to the spectacle

Since last tribe 6, at least 185 fire alarms have screeched within 45 of the city's 80 public high indoctrinate buildings, triggering mandatory evacuations.

The biggest enigmas by far were concentrated in sum of two units schools -- Chicago Vocational, with 41 alarms, and Fenger Academy, with 26 the 911 records showed.

CVCA Principal Marie Chambers Miles said she fix it hard to believe her gymnasium had the worst tally, level though CPS officials said the CVCA denomination engineer recorded even more alarms in his log main division -- 45.

False alarms plague many academys said Miles, whose 750,000- square-foot building, the system's largest, has nearly 70 fire alarm units.

"I have at least 12 friends who are principals, and we have an ongoing conversation [about this]," Miles said.

The 911 records don't ponder what activated school alarms. a certain schools blamed some alarms onward mechanical problems, which also would have triggered evacuations.

However, unruffled Duncan agreed prank pulls were forward the rise this past year. And he said he's determined that record won't be repeated.

"The puzzle needs to be eliminated going into this fall," Duncan said. "It will not be tolerated."

'It was scary'

Anything can happen when kids pile disclosed of schools during fire alarm evacuations -- especially at large high indoctrinates holding 2,000 or more kids, principals, teachers and smooth students warn.

Alarms during trials can breed cheating. Some kids walk without of class and don't respond Others start fighting as at so early an hour as they hit open space.

Chicago Vocational experienced its worst post-alarm brawl Feb 3 while in subordination to stepped-up security for a rash of alarms and fights.

That day, the display outside the school amounted to "a exercise riot," said Pairadeese Taylor, 15 united of six CVCA students who organized a research throw around the school's fire alarm moot points Nineteen kids were arrested.

The month before, alarms shrieked relentlessly at CVCA -- forward Jan. 6, 11, 12, 17 18 19 23 and Feb 1

Twice -- in succession Jan. 11 and 17 -- sum of two units alarms went off in single in kind day. Once, said one teacher, sole half of her class had go [i]or[/i] come backed from one alarm when a inferior rang out.

At individual point, Pairadeese said, a fight give vent to eruptionsed by the front desk as about 2000 pupils were returning to the building. Said Pairadeese: "I saw teachers trying to stop the fight, and they got knocked down."

in succession Feb. 3, said CPS spokesman Michael Vaughn, CVCA's security supervisor was sprayed in the face with Mace when he tried to break up a fight between pair students inside the school. Afterward, Vaughn said, "Someone ventureed the fire alarm, and scholars went outside and attempted to continue the fight."

There, in the van yard, said Pairadeese colleague Deion Collins, 14 single in kind group of kids pounced in succession another.

"It was a whole collection of chaos," Deion said. "There was progeny on the faces of about people. There was fighting, punching, kicking, like a regular fist fight. . .

"I was a freshman, and this was my first year there. I had not at all seen something like that before. It was scary."

Grabbing your 'backup'

This past academy year, at least seven CVCA alarms were ventureed "for the purpose of fighting," CP Security Chief Andres Durbak said his investigators place Kids and teachers claimed far more.

As shortly as alarms rang, said teacher Ashley Meyer kids would pick up their lonely dwelling phones and start asking "Where's the fight?" -- either "to join it or watch it."

Post-alarm fights also burst forthed at Fenger, Clemente, Tilden and Morgan Park, Durbak said, although the last three trains eventually got the problem subject to control.

At Morgan Park and CVCA, Durbak said, an fights pitted school football players against gang members.