Tymika Bradford-Robbins, Monica Bentham and Ben Wager hit the road with Neal Swain, Daniel Poss, Ben Wager, Nick Wild, Jeremy Gallagher, Brock Stone, Paul Hartley, Mitchell Bourke and Sam Turner from Gunnedah Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) on Tuesday and Wednesday to back-up the Rural Fire Service.

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Gunnedah Fire and Rescue captain David Welch said he was "proud" of the new recruits who completed phased one of their training earlier this month.

"They're super enthusiastic and they’ve brought back a wealth of knowledge from the phase one training they’ve done," he said.

"On-the job-training like they would have done over the past 48 hours [at Tingha] will be fantastic for the future.

"I’m proud of them for everything they’ve done and all the other firefighters as well."

This afternoon, the fire in the Tingha, Old Mill and Stanborough area had burnt more than 17,100ha and was still out of control. 

On social media today, the RFS said the RFS Building Impact Analysis teams had completed their first assessment of damage and confirmed that six homes have been destroyed and five homes have been damaged.

Nine outbuildings have been destroyed and three outbuildings have been damaged, and three other buildings have been damaged.

It was declared a natural disaster on Wednesday night. Firefighters have come from across the state to assist.

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