Mr Reid wants to prevent a European Parliament vote to scrap Britain's opt-out from the Working Time Directive affecting retained firefighters and the emergency cover they provide.
The Parliament in Strasbourg voted on December 17 to scrap the Br
itish opt-out from the directive - and while the UK government has still to decide how to put the changes into effect, Liberal Democrat MPs, including Mr Reid, have promised to stress the importance of firefighting cover in talks with ministers at Westminster and Holyrood.
Said Mr Reid: "It is clear that it would be impossible to achieve anything approaching adequate fire cover in an area like Argyll & Bute without the vital work which retained fire-fighters do.
"Their presence in so many of our communities – and especially the flexibility which they have through being able to work full-time in other professions but still respond to emergencies at all times – is a huge enhancement to the service provided and the safety of the public.
"The loss of the huge contribution retained fire-fighters make would be a disaster. Full-time fire-fighters simply could not be employed across our area with anything like the same coverage – the consequences would be slower response times and ultimately the loss of lives."
Strathclyde Fire and Rescue's Rothesay watch commander Roddy Shaw said the brigade had not yet considered any effect the changes might have on fire cover on Bute.
