Firefighters in Perth say the city is being left with just one appliance at busy times.
And they are warning the reduced service could lead to “catastrophic” delays in an emergency.
Perth lost one of its three pumping appliances at the beginning of September.
The change is part of a £36 million Scotland-wide cuts programme.
The Fire Brigades Union says Perth’s second unit is being sent as far away as Killin – a three-hour round trip – to provide cover there.
Local FBU secretary David Evans says Perth firefighters are also being sent to bolster crews as far afield as Aberfeldy and Arbroath.
“Perth now can sit with just one fire appliance which is not enough to deal with anything but the most rudimentary fire or car accident,” said Mr Evans.
“If that fire engine is called out, Perth has zero fire cover until standby pumps arrive from surrounding areas, for example Blairgowrie or Dundee.
He added: “If you have a car accident, house fire, water incident, wildfire or flooding, a single minute can be the difference between positive and negative outcomes.
“A 20-30 minute delay can be catastrophic.”
Perth fire cuts come as service is already stretched
Mr Evans said the situation was being exacerbated by a shortage of fire appliances across the region.
This means Perth firefighters are having to plug gaps in rural areas, reducing protection in the city.
“It is essentially leaving Perth as a one pump station, when just weeks ago it was a three pump station,” he said.
“And there are more cuts to come.”
Firefighters from Perth will be attending a rally outside Holyrood next month to press the Scottish Government for more funding.
They say 1,100 firefighter jobs have already been lost in the past decade when demands on their services are rising.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service says it is having to make £11 million of cuts this year to meet its budget allocation.
Additional reductions of £11.3m; £7.3m and £6.9m are planned for the years ahead.
Group Commander Serge Kabamba said: “We continuously review our resources to ensure we can effectively deliver our frontline emergency service.
“Our Operations Control staff will always work to mobilise the closest and most appropriate fire appliance.
“As a national service we have the ability to strategically place our network of resources and staff to where they may be required to maintain fire cover. And we continue to attend every emergency.”
Impact felt far beyond Perth
Perth City councillor Brian Leishman submitted a motion on the fire cuts to Perth and Kinross Council’s housing and wellbeing committee.
He said the “hollowing out” of the service would have an impact on communities everywhere.
“It will be more and more common that one appliance and crew will be sent on standby to remote areas.
“And that will leave Perth with one appliance to deal with any emergency,” he said.
“The role of the fire service is being stripped back to being more like a ‘recovery’ service as firefighters are given less resources to do their job effectively.”
The Scottish Government says it has given the fire service £368 million this year. That’s an increase of £14.4m on the year before.
And it says there are more firefighters in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are pleased firefighters have also recently accepted an improved pay offer.
“Operational decisions on the allocation of resources are a matter for the SFRS board and chief officer.
“In common with all public bodies it is right that SFRS continues to review its operations to ensure it is effective and delivering value for taxpayers money.”
Conversation