Storm threat not known in Vic fire deaths

Two Victorian firefighters killed when a tree fell on their truck would have been pulled out of the "inherently dangerous" area if the operations manager had known a storm cell was approaching, an inquest has heard.

Brian Leith MacKenzie, who was running Country Fire Authority operations for the Harrietville fire in Ovens on February 13 last year, said he did not know weather specialists had identified a storm approaching the blaze more than an hour before the tragedy.

Mr MacKenzie said he was relying on his local knowledge and information from other sources, including field staff, but had not been trained to read the maps that were being handed to the operations room by fire behaviour specialists.

Steven Kadar, 34, and 19-year-old Katie Peters, firefighters with the then Department of Sustainability and Environment, died when the tree fell on their truck as they were back-burning on Pheasant Creek Track about 3.35pm on February 13.

Fire behaviour specialist Tim Wells told the inquest a storm cell that was likely to impact the western flank of the Harrietville fire was identified just before 2.25pm.

Mr Wells printed several screen grabs of weather maps throughout the afternoon, starting at 2.22pm, and delivered them to operational staff.

Mr Mackenzie said it was his understanding that the storms were "a huge distance" away from where crews were back-burning in the remote Alpine area and he would have acted differently if he'd understood the storm was expected to impact the flank of the Harrietville fire.

"It would have had a great impact. I would have suggested they withdraw," Mr MacKenzie told the Victorian Coroners Court on Wednesday.

"All the trees in that area are inherently dangerous and we stress that at all times."

Mr MacKenzie, a firefighter of 37 years, said he had spoken with field staff who were not concerned about the weather.

He said he received no reports from field staff with concerns about falling trees and that while the decision to recall crews fell to the operations manager, all people on the fire line have the right to do so.

The Harrietville fire burned 37,000 hectares in the state's alpine region after being sparked by lightning on January 21.