First responders in the region reported a mostly uneventful Saturday as the storm continued to blow through around midday.

New London Police Department Capt. Matt Galante said the department had staffed extra officers Saturday, just in case. But as of about 5 p.m., he said the day had been a relatively quiet one, with no major accidents or emergencies in the city.

"I think it's a testament to the fact that most people heeded the warnings from city and state officials and stayed home, so we don't have much traffic on the roads," Galante said. "It's a good thing that people are staying safe and staying off the roads, it allows the public works to do their jobs."

New London Fire Department Chief Thomas Curcio said the department also was ready just in case. "We've overstaffed today and tonight to get through the storm," he said, noting there were about 10 extra personnel members at the fire station Saturday.

"We have extra people here because a situation like this, if we were to have a fire and it turned into a serious call, it would be very difficult to get mutual aid companies in here because of the roads. And if people had to be called in from their homes, it might not be possible for them to get out either," he said.

The department also had two Chevy Tahoes ready to go, which he said can get through bad road conditions in a blizzard like this more easily than other emergency vehicles. The rear tires on the fire engines had been fitted with chains ahead of the storm, as well.

About 8 a.m., the department responded to downed power lines and an outage at a traffic light at the intersection of Colman Street and Frontage Road. Curcio said the roads in the area were closed as crews worked to get the power lines out of the road about 8 a.m. The roads have since been reopened.

In a storm of this magnitude, Curcio said downed power lines often pose a bigger problem because sometimes, if the roads are too bad, utility companies can't make it to the scene. But Saturday morning, crews arrived quickly to clear the scene and get power restored, he said.

The chief also said the fire department has "a great partnership" with the city's public works department that is helpful on days like this. "They'll listen in on a scanner and if we get a call, they'll try to get a plow there before us to clear the area so we can get through," he said.

The Groton City, Stonington and Waterford police department said Saturday had been mostly a quiet day in their areas, too.

In East Lyme, police Chief Mike Finkelstein said there had been a few crashes.

A car crash into a pole around 10:57 a.m. didn't result in any injuries but required utility work by Eversource Energy and Frontier Communications, Finkelstein said. Only one or two customers lost power, which was restored by 1:50 p.m.

A FedEx truck rolled over onto its side at 2:23 a.m. on Interstate 95, according to the chief. Nobody was injured in the crash, he said.

Sgt. Bruce Babcock said the police department has four extra patrol teams for the storm. "They're staffed exclusively for the weather and road conditions, each is assigned to a different area of town in the event that we get a call for service," he said. "If there are power lines down, car accidents, anything that can go wrong, they'll be ready."

Babcock said the department planned to have extra patrols out throughout East Lyme because extreme weather causes bad road conditions and slows their response time.

As of about 1:30 p.m. Saturday, there hadn't been many calls, he said. "People have been very good today with being very compliant with all the weather advisories and staying off the roads."

The public works department for East Lyme reported a water main break in the area of 29 South Edgewood Road about 3 a.m. Officials said water service would be shut off as crews made repairs.

First Selectman Kevin Seery said the break, which affected about 40 people, was fixed by 11:30 a.m. Affected residents may experience dirty water, officials said in a statement, and should run their cold water until the faucets run clear.

Day Staff Writer Elizabeth Regan contributed to this report.

t.hartz@theday.com