That was the warning made at a meeting of the Highlands and Islands Fire Board on Friday by the convener, Councillor Richard Durham.

"Some people have suggested we are scaremongering, but this is a very serious issue for the service," he said. "The political situation is that implementing this directive would be catastrophic and there would be no fire and rescue service in the Highlands and Islands outwith the full-time service in Inverness."

The ruling made in the European Parliament last month would end Britain's opt-out from the Working Time Directive and mean that people could only work 48 hours a week.

Such a move would have "major implications" for fire cover in areas such as the Far North, according to local fire boss Gareth Edwards, who yesterday expressed his concerns about the Brussels directive.

Mr Edwards, the district manager for Caithness and north-west Sutherland, said if the Working Time Directive was implemented, the fire service in the Far North would require "many, many more volunteers" and he did not think that was likely to happen.

At present, the fire stations at Wick and Thurso each have around 20 people.

Mr Edwards told the Caithness Courier: "My personal view is that there will be major implications for fire cover in the Far North if this ruling comes into effect in three years' time."

Fraser Parr, who is the chairman of the Highlands and Islands Fire Brigade Union, expressed a similar opinion and felt there would be "a massive effect" on the service if the opt-out was ended.

He stressed that there are around 1500 retained firefighters in the area and most of them have full-time jobs. If the ruling is implemented, it would severely limit the number of hours they could provide cover.

"One way round it would be to make all retained units full time. That would be fantastic and create a lot of jobs in the Highlands and Islands but it would not happen in reality because the budget to do that would not be made available. I can't see how we can overcome this unless we get an exemption," he said.

Mr Parr felt the issue had to be grasped immediately. "We have got to address this issue now and I would hope we would have a dialogue with the Government and European Members of Parliament to try and amend or change the legislation," continued the union official.

"If this ruling goes ahead there would be no suitable system in place to provide cover to protect the public and property, and lives could be at risk. There has to be a way round this.

"We will be fighting for an amendment or an exemption from this ruling but, in the meantime, will continue to provide the public with proper fire cover."

Brian Murray, the chief fire officer for the Highlands and Islands, also expressed his concern about the potential consequences of losing the opt-out from the European Working Time Directive.

He emphasised that the service is responsible for an area measuring one-sixth of the UK and only has one full-time station – at Inverness.

"As the impact of the directive would severely restrict the availability of retained duty staff, it would make it virtually impossible to guarantee an emergency response. In addition, there are serious implications for full-time officers at all levels which would again impact upon the safety of our staff and communities," he said.

"We would hope a solution could be found to allow our community-based workforce to continue to provide an effective and efficient fire and rescue service.

"Retained duty staff provide an exceptional cost-effective safety network to 91 per cent of the UK."

He added: "It is therefore important their community commitment is recognised and valued, and we will make every effort to find a positive way forward."

As reported in Friday's John O'Groat Journal, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP John Thurso said the ruling could have "potentially fatal consequences".

He tabled an early day motion calling on the Westminster Government to "act urgently" to maintain cover by retained firemen following the decision by the European Parliament to remove the opt-out to the Working Time Directive.

According to the Liberal Democrat MP, the plan could result in firemen – many of whom have full-time jobs – being unable to attend some incidents. He described the situation as "ludicrous."

Wick Highland councillor Bill Fernie, a former member of the Highlands and Islands Fire Board, shared the concerns expressed by John Thurso. "I think firefighters will be completely frustrated by this ruling.

"They will want to go out and do their job but could be unable to do so because of a decision made in the European Parliament.

"I feel there should be more flexibility in the system, especially for rural areas."

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