For the first time in the state's history, the NSW Rural Fire Service has created two all-Indigenous firefighting crews.

Key points: Eight men have been selected by their elders to become part of the first all-Indigenous firefighting crews with the NSW RFS

Eight men have been selected by their elders to become part of the first all-Indigenous firefighting crews with the NSW RFS The men will protect sacred sites, fight remote fires, and care for country

The men will protect sacred sites, fight remote fires, and care for country Some of the men recruited have never held a steady job so the impact of the program has been profound

Eight men, from Bourke and Brewarrina in far western New South Wales, have been handpicked by their elders to care for their country.

The crews, called Indigenous Mitigation Crews, are charged with protecting sacred sites, caring for kin on reserves, and fighting remote fires.

The opportunity has given Dale Barker a platform to change lives.

"I just love helping the community out and seeing some of the younger Aboriginal kids watching us work and maybe thinking, oh yeah, I want to do that one day," he said.

Mr Barker used to be a shearer. The work was hard, the shifts sporadic, and the pay patchy.

The chance to lead Bourke's Indigenous Mitigation Crew has enabled him to take better care of himself and his family.

"The hours we work are 8am until 4pm so the majority of the time I'm home to get dinner started, so that's a big plus for my wife and two kids," he said.

Former shearer Dale Barker leads Bourke's new Indigenous firefighting recruits. ( ABC Western Plains: Jessie Davies )

Adding meaning to life

Ngemba traditional owner Grace Gordon said some of the eight firefighters recruited had never held a steady job prior to their employment with the RFS.

The program's impact had been immediate.

"Their lives have changed. They've got more meaning to life now," she said.

Ngemba elder Grace Gordon wants the Rural Fire Services to incorporate more Indigenous voices. ( ABC Western Plains: Jessie Davies )

In Bourke, Indigenous people make up one third of the population; in Brewarrina it is two thirds.

Ms Gordon said jobs were few and far between, and when there were jobs, often Indigenous applicants missed out.

Government schemes aimed at stemming unemployment in the towns are also not always successful.

"Most of the jobs that come to us are pilot projects that run for six to 12 months," Ms Gordon said.

"That amount of time doesn't allow for them to plan around their finances and career paths."

But she said this program was already making a difference.

"They have an income now where they can plan around future aspirations for themselves, like buying a house or buying a car," she said.

"A few years ago that would have been just a dream."

Building trust with community

In time, the recruits will be tasked with performing cultural burns to better manage the region's fuel load, but for now they are focused on building trust with the community.

Building trust with local school kids and educating them about the dangers of arson is a key part of the job. ( ABC Western Plains: Jessie Davies )

That is something important to Chris "Burra" McHughes.

"From one First Nations person to another, it's easy to build trust," he said.

"We call each other brother, sister, uncle, aunt; we've got something to connect easy with."

The crews regularly visit local schools to discuss the dangers of arson and the importance of staying fit, strong, and ready for the workforce.

They also reduce bushfire hazards around Indigenous settlements like the Alice Edwards Village near Bourke.

Home to 100 residents, few have smoke-alarms fitted, nor bushfire survival plans in place.

"We clean the gutters out, lop trees and remove rubbish [so] that's one less risk they have to worry about when bushfires come," Mr McHughes said.

Including Indigenous voices

Indigenous elder Jason Ford from Brewarrina would like to see NSW RFS Indigenous Mitigation Crews established elsewhere.

The crews can be called out to help fight remote fires. ( ABC Western Plains: Jessie Davies )

"If this type of model was rolled out right across NSW it would contribute greatly to closing the gap," he said.

In NSW, more than 740 homes have been destroyed by fire since November.

Mr Ford wants Indigenous people to have a greater say about the way the Australian landscape is managed.

"Aboriginal people have been excluded from the fire management space for a long time and it's well overdue that we get back in on those discussions," he said.

He said sharing ancient knowledge about fire was one way his people could help build a better, safer country.

"For years we've been perceived as not contributing to the welfare of this country, but we do so in a number of different ways and this is one way we could project that to the broader community," he said.

The RFS has no immediate plans to establish more all-Indigenous crews.