Victoria’s Country Fire Authority (CFA) may be liable if its controversial fire warning app leads to a blaze being missed, an insurance expert claims.

The FireReady tool for smartphones and tablets, which cost more than $320,000, has prompted hundreds of complaints since its launch in 2010.

In the latest incident non-existent fires were shown, including one fire marker off the coast of Japan.

The CFA says the issue was caused by test material being accidentally published live, rather than bugs.

But insurance expert Allan Manning says if such issues ever lead to disaster, the CFA could be liable.

“The CFA has a duty to the public,” he said. “If it said there was not a fire when there was and there were serious consequences, that could result in a major lawsuit.

“Unless it is protected by legislation, the normal rules of negligence would apply.”

But Australian National University academic Michael Eburn, an expert in emergency services law, says such a situation is possible but “very unlikely”.

“The law does not require perfection, the law requires reasonable effort. Mere mistakes do not make you liable.”

Even if false information is published on the app, it is hard to see how any damage would be caused, Dr Eburn says.

“People are always urged to check multiple sources. Are you really going to jump into your car the moment you see something on the app?”

However, he says the CFA could be held liable is if misleading information is put out deliberately or it does nothing to address the glitches that have been highlighted.

The recent slip-up saw “incidents” published in error, but not warnings, a CFA spokesman says. A review is being conducted to ensure staff and contractors do not use live environments for testing.

He says the app is generally working well and has been downloaded by more than 400,000 users.

“No app is perfect,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “We’ve had complaints but they’ve numbered in the low hundreds. There are issues for Windows phones and the older-style Blackberry.”

On the issue of liability, he says bushfire preparedness “is a shared responsibility between fire agencies and the community”.

“People in bushfire risk areas should never rely on only one source of information and warnings. Telecommunications and power infrastructure could be damaged by fire.”