FLINT -- Days after four children died in an apartment fire Flint's Public Safety Director speaks out defending the fire department and it's response time.

Initial reports allege it took fire fighters 11 minutes to reach the scene of a deadly house fire Saturday night in Flint but Public Safey Director Alvern Lock says that's not the case.

He tells NBC25 Tuesday night it took firefighters 7 1/2 minutes after they were dispatched to reach the fire at the River Park Aparments, which was ten minutes after the call came in.

Lock says people need to look at the time it took for someone to actually report the fire.

"What we're forgetting about is that the fire burned long before anyone called 911. How long did the fire burn before anyone called? A fire doubles every 30 seconds. We don't know how long the fire burned before someone called."

Lock says there's an investigation as to whether there was enough manpower.

The criticisms stem from the closure of nearby station four which Lock says did not play a factor in response time.