It soon dawned on him it was a new threat his ambulance team at Mount Helen’s Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority centre had never seen before: thunderstorm asthma. 

“You could just feel that this was different, it had a snowball effect that just got bigger and bigger,” Mr Parker said.

“I remember saying, what’s going on? My initial thoughts were some kind of terrorist incident.

“It makes the hair stand on my neck when I think about it now. It came up on us quickly.”

The actions of Ballarat’s call takers and dispatchers over the next four hours, directing paramedics to get to people who were collapsing, undoubtedly saved lives.

During the emergency, workers at Mount Helen’s ESTA centre were on the frontline, fielding calls from those who had dialed triple-0.

This week, Mr Parker's Ballarat members and Melbourne counterparts won best team performance at the ESTA awards for their handling of the storm, which kicked up pollen into the air and triggered mass asthma attacks.

Indeed, the storm on November 21 last year was unprecedented and sent shock waves through medical and emergency service ranks.

A coronial investigation is now looking into how prepared Ambulance Victoria and ESTA will be for any repeat events.

Up to 10 deaths across the state have been linked to last year's storm.

Mr Parker, who was a policeman before joining ESTA, said the storm reminded him of taking calls during the deadly Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.

“I’m very proud of the manner in which our frontline troops – our dispatchers and call takers - conducted themselves,” he said.

“It’s had a devastating impact, we’re all extremely saddened by the deaths.

“(My team) doesn't just see addresses on a screen, we see the patient’s age and hear the state of distress they’re in.

“Trust me, they feel it.”