Inquest sought on Vic coalmine fire

The inquiry into a Victorian coalmine fire overlooked key data on a possibly related spike in deaths, say Morwell residents now pushing for an inquest.

They say the inquiry's short time frame did not allow a proper assessment of the impact of the Hazelwood coalmine fire which blanketed the town in smoke for 45 days in early 2014.

"Our client believes there is strong evidence a spike in deaths in the Latrobe Valley was caused directly by pollution from the coalmine fire," said Nicola Rivers, from Environmental Justice Australia, on Tuesday.

"A thorough, independent review is what the people of the Latrobe Valley need if they are to get justice and a coronial inquiry can do that."

Ron Ipsen, spokesperson for residents group Voices of the Valley, said the Morwell community felt badly let down by the response to the fire and the state government-initiated inquiry.

An inquest would "properly investigate this issue and give us the protection we deserve", he said.

The inquiry's recommendations included running a 20-year study of Latrobe Valley residents to monitor health effects.

A Queensland University of Technology academic in September released an analysis indicating the fire may have increased the Latrobe Valley death rate by 15 per cent.

Voices of the Valley also released death registry data, showing the four postcodes nearest to the mine recorded 42 more deaths from February to June this year than the previous five-year average.