The Fire Brigades Union had expressed "serious concern" after the number of firefighters in Scotland dropped to a record low.
New figures published on Friday show the number of firefighters has dropped from a high of 4159 in 2011/12 to 3422 in 2023/4, a loss of 737 posts, a record low since the creation of the single service.
The number of staff in fire control rooms has also fallen from 234 to 172.
The FBU said rural and island communities had lost 344 firefighters in the last decade, resulting in more fire appliances being ‘off the run’ and unable to respond to emergency calls.
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John McKenzie FBU Scottish Secretary said: "These new performance statistics confirm everything The Fire Brigades Union has been saying since the creation of the single service.
"If you cut the number of operational firefighters, cut the numbers in control rooms, have fewer appliances available and reduce home fire safety visits then it is inevitable that response times increase and the communities and businesses of Scotland become less safe.
"The Scottish Government and the SFRS cannot ignore these realities any more. More than a decade of underfunding has resulted in the decline of the Service and a reduced capacity to deal with emergency situations.
"We need a credible, year on year investment programme that increases the budget for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and ensures that we have the right number of firefighters, trained to the highest standard and with the equipment required to keep the public safe."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "Firefighters play a crucial role in keeping communities safe, which is why we are investing £393 million in the Scottish Fire Rescue Service this year - an increase of £29.3 million.
“Whilst recruitment is an operational matter for SFRS, we are maintaining front-line services and Scotland continues to have a higher number of firefighters per head of population than other parts of the UK.”
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