DEPI staff feel bushfire strain: Inquest

Victorian government staff would rather fight fires on the ground than work in operational roles, an inquest into the death of two firefighters has heard.

Department of Environment and Primary Industries chief fire officer Alan Goodwin said it was easier to find employees to volunteer for frontline duties than work in operation units because of the scrutiny operational staff come under.

"The scrutiny the department has come under has a huge psychological impact," Mr Goodwin told the Victorian Coroners Court on Thursday.

"It's something we've been grappling with for quite a bit."

Staff at DEPI, formerly the Department of Sustainability and Environment, may volunteer to fight fires, but the department cannot compel them to, he said.

Earlier, the inquest heard DSE firefighters Steven Kadar, 34, and Katie Peters, 19, were back burning part of the Harrietville bushfire on February 13 last year when a falling tree hit their truck and killed them.

The inquest was previously told they would have been pulled out of the remote Alpine area of Pheasants Creek Track if the operations manager had known a storm cell was approaching.

Brian Leith MacKenzie, who was running CFA operations for the Harrietville fire in Ovens on the day, said he did not know the storm was approaching and had spoken with ground staff who expressed no concern about weather conditions.

Mr Goodwin told the inquest every person fighting a fire needed to be acutely involved in safety and he would like there to be a stronger feedback loop between ground staff and operational staff.

"Everybody has to be involved in a level of safety," Mr Goodwin said.

Coroner John Olle said he was satisfied DEPI was leaving "no stone unturned" in its response to the incident.

He also said the outpouring of tributes for the two firefighters was the greatest he'd seen in 25 years.

He said firefighters were "the bravest of the brave".

The inquest continues.