Doctors say it doesn't take long for frostbite and hypothermia to set in when you're out in these bitter cold conditions. With that in mind, Bridgeport is stepping up to address the needs of its homeless population.

"This is very serious. Life and death," says Bridgeport City Council Member Jorge Cruz.

There are hundreds of homeless people in Bridgeport, many living in this extreme cold. "Some folks think that they can ride it out in the cold weather, but they don't understand when the cold weather starts ripping you and you start going into hypothermia. I mean, forget it. You just don't know. You fall asleep. You don't know that you're dying," says Cruz. The Bridgeport City Council has approved a resolution to mandate the city to provide more shelter for homeless individuals. Mayor Joe Ganim is expected to approve that resolution soon. "You can start getting frostbite or hypothermia within 30 minutes," says Dr. Justin Cahill, chair of the emergency department at Bridgeport Hospital. Cahill says once you start shivering, you can start getting confused and clumsy with your actions. "Frostbite is more of a localized injury, and you could feel that on your fingertips probably to start or any other exposed area of skin. You'll feel some stinging, maybe some tingling. Now hypothermia is when your core body temperature is getting lower," says Cahill. He says people with poor circulation are at risk, as is anyone who is outside for hours at a time with exposed skin. Cahill says to get to the emergency room if your skin discolors and you are in pain.

Doctors at Bridgeport Hospital say they have not yet seen any severe cases of frostbite from this latest bitter blast.