POWERLINES capable of sparking a repeat of the Black Saturday bushfires have not been checked since the February disaster, the Royal Commission heard last week.

Doubts have also been raised about evidence given by the company that inspected the allegedly faulty powerline.

At the hearing, the commission heard that a defective, 43-year-old power line allegedly sparked the catastrophic Kilmore East fire, which killed 119 people.

On Thursday, HRL Technology engineer Harry Better told the commission that the faulty part of the powerline had probably existed for years.

He said there were signs of metal fatigue in the powerlines, which should have been discovered by a line inspector.

“Microscopic and SEM confirmed that a fatigue crack propagated through (the wire),” he said.

Paul Lane of SP Ausnet, the company in charge of the powerlines that allegedly sparked the fire, said he was unaware of any monitoring system to assess metal fatigue.

The power company’s north regional manager also told the commission that there was no system in place to retro-fit old powerlines with devices to prevent wind vibration, which could cause fatigue.

CFA wildlife inspector Fabian Crowe, who was in charge of investigating the Kilmore East fire, told the commission that he traced the origin of the fire to pole 38, between Sunday Creek Rd and Saunders Rd on the Pentadeen spur line.

When Mr Crowe was asked if he thought there was a second point of origin, he replied: “Absolutely not. I was absolutely convinced there was only one source.”

Mr Crowe was cross-examined by Dr Greg Lyon, who asked: “Being quite clear, where did you think the fire commenced?” Mr Crowe replied: “Immediately adjacent to 38.”

Mr Lane said, to his knowledge, the span between poles 38 and 39 had not been checked by SP Ausnet since they were re-strung on 8-9 February.

Energy Safe Victoria’s Michael Leahy, who helped Mr Crowe in his investigation, told the commission that he believed the conductor at pole 39, one km from pole 38, had broken, came into contact with the stay wire, causing electricity to travel through the wire and ignite the grass.

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