#OKC BOXSCORE

Fire Department savings add up

The Oklahoma City Fire Department has saved $2.4 million in the past year by taking rigs out of service when staffing falls below minimums. The department began idling rigs “temporarily and situationally” in October 2016 to make up a budget shortfall. Savings were achieved by reducing “callbacks,” when firefighters are called in on overtime to keep stations fully staffed. Data shows savings can range up to $15,000 or more per day.

‘Level zero’ pressure eases

“Level zero” conditions are continuing in 2017 but the frequency and duration of ambulance service outages have eased, according to Oklahoma City Fire Department records. Level zero occurs when the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) reports no ambulances are available to take calls. In those situations, firefighters must respond to additional medical calls, putting pressure on staffing and raising costs for the city. In 2015, the Fire Department logged more than 160 level zero declarations. Records for 2017 show level zero conditions had been declared 40 times through Sept. 24. The average duration is about 20 minutes, down from nearly three hours in 2015.

State Fair draws 900,000

Attendance at the 2017 Oklahoma State Fair was about 900,000, fair spokesman Scott Munz said. The 11-day fair ran Sept. 14 to 24 at State Fair Park. How State Fair attendance stacks up: The 2017 Iowa State Fair drew 1.1 million for its 11-day run; Kentucky drew 610,000 over 11 days in August. Among 12-day fairs, Maryland drew 556,000; the Minnesota State Fair recorded just under 2 million visitors.

New date for streetcar arrival

The first of Oklahoma City’s seven streetcars is due from the manufacturer in Pennsylvania by mid November. That’s a few weeks later than previously anticipated, but lines up well with the expected completion date of the MAPS 3 streetcar maintenance and storage garage at SW 7 Street and Hudson Avenue. The next five streetcars are expected to arrive at the rate of one every two to three weeks, through late fall and early winter; the seventh streetcar will be built at the Brookville Equipment Corp. manufacturing plant in western Pennsylvania later in 2018.

Testing will begin shortly after the first streetcar arrives. Service is to begin in November 2018.

Tweet of the week

“Week in Review: Budget Crunch, Distracted Driving and Thunder Preseason”— @phillipoconnor3, Live/Enterprise Director at @TheOklahoman and @newsok. Catch the Week in Review video each week at NewsOK. com.

Streetcar construction

MAPS 3 streetcar construction has intensified throughout downtown. For updates, follow the weekly downtown area traffic advisory online at okc.gov.

Present/absent

Mayor Mick Cornett and five of the eight city council members attended the Sept. 26 meeting. Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid, a physician and an ardent critic of the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) ambulance service, was giving testimony, for the second time in the past month, to attorneys in the federal investigation of an alleged EMSA kickback scheme. Shadid served on the EMSA Board of Trustees from 2011 to 2014. Ward 6 Councilwoman Meg Salyer was away on personal leave. Ward 8 Councilman Mark Stonecipher, an attorney, was taking a deposition in a Cleveland County lawsuit.

Looking ahead

The Oklahoma City Council meets at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 200 N Walker.