FLINT, MI -- Gov. Rick Snyder has activated the Michigan National Guard to assist in the Flint water crisis, his press secretary confirmed today, Jan. 12.

Members of the National Guard are expected to be in Flint as early as Wednesday, Jan. 13, to help staff fire stations and allow members of the American Red Cross to shift to assisting with door-to-door distribution of water and water filters, said Dave Murray, the governor's press secretary.

The governor's spokesman said the activation is only the second time Snyder has taken such an action, last activating the National Guard in 2012 to assist with the Duck Lake Fire.

Snyder's mobilization of the National Guard comes in the same day he was peppered with questions about the Flint water crisis during his visit to the Detroit Auto Show today.

Snyder declared a state of emergency because of Flint's lead in water crisis last week, saying he was sorry for the state's role in rising lead levels in Flint water and in the blood of young children since the city changed its water source to the Flint River in April 2014.

Those developments occurred while the city was being run by an emergency manager appointed by the governor.