How cold it was on Thursday was a matter of perspective.

Temperatures hovered around zero, and got to 10-below with the wind chill. That’s colder than normal, said Western Connecticut State University Weather Center meteorologist Gary Lessor, but he quickly added that such temperatures in January are “nothing extreme.”

Christine Coates, who lives at the Williams Park apartments in New London and was walking to a coffee shop farther up Broad Street on Thursday morning, saw things a little differently.

“It’s cold enough to bristle the hair on the back of a bear today,” she said.

When she stopped to talk to school crossing guard Katya Cruz, Cruz offered her a hand warmer.

“Thank you, thank you,” Coates said.

Cruz, a city crossing guard for two years, explained she put on extra clothes: three pairs of leggings, topped by three pairs of sweatpants, three sweatshirts, a jacket, socks and boots, a cap with the hood of a sweatshirt pulled snug over it and a scarf.

Not too far away, at Connecticut and Lincoln avenues, crossing guard Diane Fisher pooh-poohed the cold from her post on her sunny corner.

“It’s been colder than this,” said Fisher, a city crossing guard for 16 years.

Fisher said the key is to bundle up well and make the students the priority. Under her coat, she was wearing three shirts and a sweater.

Schools around the region opened later than usual, and warming shelters were opened at the Senior Center and the Salvation Army, both in New London, although very few people showed up to use them.

Catherine Zall, executive director of New London’s Homeless Hospitality Center, said when Gov. Dannel P. Malloy activated that state’s Severe Cold Weather Protocol on Tuesday, it allowed the center to access additional funds to provide more space for people in need of shelter.

Mats were used in a conference room where guests generally do not spend the night, but are able to when the governor activates the protocol, Zall said.

But she also explained that the center is seeing fewer people on frigid nights like Wednesday because it has been so successful in finding more permanent housing for those in need.

Two years ago, a peak number at the shelter would be about 85, she said, but overnight Wednesday to Thursday, it was about 55.

“That’s huge, and it’s because of rapid rehousing,” she said. “We are getting better and better at it.”

Frozen pipes

The cold weather kept New London firefighters busy throughout the day, responding to calls for frozen pipes and in one case a fire at a homeless encampment that sent two people to the hospital.

New London Fire Battalion Chief Edward Sargent said there were several cases of broken sprinkler pipes, including one at Kindred Crossings Healthcare, 78 Viets St. A burst sprinkler pipe activated a fire alarm and led to water leaking into the ceiling and walls of a recreational area. Patients were not affected, he said. The sprinkler system temporarily was shut down until a private contractor made repairs.

There were similar sprinkler pipe issues at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School, 36 Waller St., and the Washington Carver Elderly Housing complex, 202 Colman St.

Firefighters also responded for reports of an early-morning fire that burned a tent in the woods behind the Charter Oak Credit Union branch on Boston Post Road in Waterford on the New London city line. Two people were taken to the hospital for treatment, Sargent said.

Businesses gear up

Jeff Suntup, owner of Anytime Fuel Oil in New London, said the cold weather has caused a bit of desperation among those living on the edge. He has received calls as early as 2:30 in the morning from people who have run out of oil and need a few extra gallons to get through the next few days.

“People don’t have money,” Suntup said. “Many people can’t afford to fill their tanks.”

Anytime Fuel delivers as little as 50 gallons of oil compared with normal minimums of 100 gallons at other companies, and is finding a large market among those seeking 5-gallon canisters of fuel for which it charges about $18, Suntup said.

Rob Cutillo, vice president of Niantic Plumbing & Appliance, said he had geared up for a 7 a.m. onslaught of customers with frozen or cracked pipes but didn’t receive any calls until 9 a.m. or later. In all, he said, there were only six to eight freeze-ups taken care of by three two-man teams, and most of them had been repaired by early Thursday afternoon.

“Nothing catastrophic,” he said. “This takes priority. We gear up for it the night before, a couple nights before, making sure the electric welders are working correctly.”

At Soundcraft Car Stereo in Waterford, the cold weather has meant a spike in sales for remote car starters.

“The phone just doesn’t stop,” said president Tony Frankopoulos, who figures the company had installed about 40 of the electronic devices in the first eight days of the year. “There’s been a lot of Christmas gift cards, but cold weather has been a big part of it.”

Frankopoulos said it takes three to four hours to install a remote starter system and anywhere from $299 on up to pay for the device and labor, but once you have one, you’ll never want a car without it.

In addition, Soundcraft offers another product that cold-weather haters will love: a windshield-wiper fluid heater that helps to quickly melt ice on the windshield thanks to 160-degree temperatures.

For now, though, temperatures are expected to return to normal. Lessor, the meteorologist, said the cold air coming from the Arctic Circle that finally made its way to Connecticut wasn’t sticking around — today, the temperature will reach 30 degrees.

i.larraneta@theday.com

a.baldelli@theday.com

l.howard@theday.com

g.smith@theday.com