A lack of heat has forced the city of Detroit to move several fire crews to new locations.

The move, according to the Detroit Firefighters Association, could hurt response time.

"If the fire company designed to be there in four minutes isn't there, then we have another fire company coming from a longer distance away," said Dan McNamara of the Detroit Firefighters Association. "As a result, we have a longer response time."

McNamara said even a few minutes can make a big difference. "If there's a fire, it has probably doubled in size (if there is a delay) and we have more of a dangerous situation."

McNamara said there are eight stations currently without heat.

However, a spokesperson for the city has identified only four stations without heat; Ryan at 7 Mile, Hoover at 8 Mile, John R at Kenilworth and Joy Road at Southfield Road.

The city said the problem is with broken boilers and furnaces and that repairs are being made.

There was a boiler repair crew working Thursday afternoon at the Ryan - 7 Mile Road location, but the problem was not expected to be fixed until sometime next week.

McNamara said the cold fire houses are also hard on the crews and equipment.

"When we are in below freezing temps - we freeze up. Our gear freezes up. Our equipment freezes up," McNamara said. He added that firefighters often have to change out of their cold gear after returning to the fire house and said it's a health risk to do that in a cold building.