Proud Kamilaroi man and chairperson of Gunnedah's Red Chief Lands Council, Mitchum Neave, along with RFSA Division 10 Chair Mick Miller and their division, put forward the idea.

Mr Mitchum joined the RFS nine years ago and has since become Captain of Piallaway Rural Fire Brigade.

"When you see Indigenous people fighting the same fires you are, it makes you stand about another six inches taller because you know the mob's there with you and it's really, really a proud moment," he said.

The pin was launched in Gunnedah on Wednesday, during a special ceremony attended by members of the local Indigenous community, Commissioner Rob Rogers and Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience Steph Cooke.

NSW Rural Fire Service Association president Scott Campbell told the Leader it was a really special moment.

"The importance of delivering the pin was for our Indigenous members, and it has taken close to 18 months to finalise," he said.

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"It went through many design phases and we obviously settled on its current form.

"As president it's an extremely proud moment that we can take an idea from the ground and through conception and development and then finally launch the pin to all our members today.

"It was a really magical moment, particularly to be on Red Chief land and to have Red Chief Lands Council leader Mitchum make the Welcome to Country."

The pin design features the service crest flanked by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands flags.

In the coming months 10,000 of the pins will be produced for members to wear.

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