Gov. Dannel P. Malloy thanked the National Guard, first responders and state and municipal employees for their work during the storm Wednesday and asked residents to help dig out fire hydrants, assist elderly people and be careful shoveling the heavy snow.

He also said more road salt is on its way to the state.

“If you have a fire hydrant in your neighborhood and you have a little extra strength would you go out and make sure that it is available to be called upon?” Malloy said from the State Emergency Operations Center at Governor William A. O'Neill State Armory in Hartford.

There was difficulty in locating a fire hydrant in Bridgeport during a fire earlier today, he said.

Malloy said that state roads should be finished being widened by tonight and that the state Department of Transportation would continue to put salt on the roads throughout the night. He encouraged municipalities to continue to widen their streets because the roads would become even more difficult to clear after the temperature drops.

Malloy said there is a barge of salt on the way to Connecticut in the next few days so the state would have enough salt for its roads.

Several municipalities in the state have reported that they are low on salt. Malloy said that it is the responsibility of the municipalities to purchase enough salt for the roads and that they should not look to the state that purpose.

But the state has helped in the past, he said, and would "be helpful to municipalities when we can be.”

Malloy also thanked the residents of Connecticut for heading the state’s warning and staying off the roads.

“State police responded to more than 12,000 calls for assistance today,” Malloy said. “There were approximately 69 somewhat serious accidents with about 12 people injured.”