Christchurch City Council has "tightened up" its building permit procedures and its engineers are much more meticulous since the mid-80s when the ill-fated CTV building was designed and built, a hearing was told today.
The royal commission of inquiry hearing into the CTV building collapse in the February 22, 2011 earthquake, which claimed 115 lives, in trying to establish how it came down so catastrophically, and identify what lessons can be learned from the disaster.
Today, the hearing, which is now in its seventh week, was told that the whole building industry had become more professional in its approach since the boom period of the mid-80s.
The six-storey CTV Building was designed in 1986 by local firm Alan Reay Consultants Ltd.
The commission has previously heard evidence that company principal Dr Alan Reay ignored concerns from a city council engineer to go straight to his boss to assure him the design was acceptable.
The building permit was then signed off.
Mark Zarifeh, counsel assisting the commission, asked Christchurch City Council's resource consents and building policy manager Steve McCarthy if that same scenario could still occur in today's environment.
"It's very unusual for an engineering company to come straight the manager," Mr McCarthy said.
He said the council is now dependant on meticulous documentation from companies.
"The whole industry has tightened up," he said.
"Certainly, the engineers are much more meticulous and professional in their approach, in terms of the documentation they provide to the council, and indeed, our decision-making has tightened up as well."
Mr McCarthy said earlier today that a fire that engulfed the Madras St structure after it collapsed was not sparked by gas bottles inside the office block.
One of the major issues for bereaved families is the fire which broke out after the collapse in the magnitude-6.3 shake which hit at 12.51pm, killing a total of 185 people.
The Fire Service said previously its investigation had been hampered because of delays and the depth of the fire, making photos and witness accounts useless.
However, it did conclude there may had been a 9kg gas cylinder stored inside the building at the time.
It could have leaked and sparked the fire, the Fire Service said, but there had also been cars inside the building at the time which also could have been a potential cause of the blaze.
Mr McCarthy today said the gas cylinder possibility had been ruled out.
"There was a suggestion that it might've been part of a cooler cabinet. We've asked our health people for any recollection or record but there's nothing on the file, and there's nothing to suggest a 9kg bottle of LPG gas on that site," he said.
The council had been asked by the commission to trawl council Hazardous Substances Office records to see if there was any evidence of gas bottles being stored inside the Madras St office.
A rescue worker and trained structural engineer, who arrived at the disaster site 30 hours after the collapse, earlier told the commission that he believed crushed cars may have sparked the blaze.
Urban Search and Rescue support engineer Graham Frost believed the fire may have started in cars in the ground floor car park.
He saw six cars being removed from the building during the recovery stage in the immediate disaster's aftermath were all burnt out.
Mr McCarthy also confirmed today that the CTV building was not recorded at the council as being potentially earthquake prone because it was built after 1976.
The hearing continues.
