Under the proposals, Leicester Central and Kibworth fire stations would close to make up a shortfall of Â£3m.
Eleven fire engines would also go and be replaced by three tactical response vehicles.
The Fire Brigades Union said the closures would have serious safety implications for the public.
However, Nick Rushton, who chairs the county's combined fire authority, said: "We need to change from a fire service to a rescue service and we have got to balance the budget.
"You can't have a medium-term financial strategy with a hole of two-and-a-half to three million in it at the end."
Graham Vaux, head of the local Fire Brigades Union, said: "We've rescued people through the history of the fire service... it's nonsense talk to justify devastating cuts to the fire service.
"The public [should be] worried about their safety because the firefighters - they're the experts - are all terrified at these cuts and what it means to the public."
An estimated 88 jobs could also go, mainly from retained fire service staff.
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue has announced plans to close two fire stations and make about 90 redundancies in a bid to save money.