The eight-week royal commission hearing into the fatal collapse of the Canterbury Television building in the February 22 earthquake will not attribute blame for its failure, its lawyer said today.
Commission lawyer Stephen Mills QC said in his opening statement on the first day of the royal commission hearing into its collapse, which claimed 115 victims, that questions of legal liability would not be addressed.
But he said that would not rule out any future legal action that may follow in the future.
Mr Mills said the six-storey building collapsed "almost like a controlled demolition", as some witnesses described it.
The collapse was "almost immediate", pancaking into the pile of rubble leaving behind it a "haunting image" that stunned the country, he said.
Before the hearing opened this morning, Canterbury Earthquake Royal Commission chairman Justice Mark Cooper made a short address, acknowledging the bereaved family and friends of the victims who were at the hearing today, and also the overseas relatives watching through live web streams.
He expressed his "deepest sympathy" to them, for what he described as a "most traumatic event".
Justice Cooper also acknowledged the survivors, many of whom were badly injured of that day.
"Many of you have awful memories of that day," he said.
Justice Cooper apologised for what might seem a "cool and dispassionate" process, but said he appreciated the emotional toll it would have on those directly affected.
His words were followed by a moving performance by the children of St Theresa's choir and kapa haka group.
In his opening address, Mr Mills highlighted the Department of Building and Housing (DBH) report, released earlier this year, which identified the "exceptionally high" horizontal and vertical shaking that building was subjected to in the quake.
But he said the terms of reference for the commission means it has a wider remit than the DBH report, was described as a technical investigation.
The royal commission will look at the permit process, the design and construction phases, a close examination of the code compliance, remedial measures carried out after faults were found in 1990, and the assessment process which started on the building after the September 4 quake.
One of the major issues for families, Mr Mills said, was the fire which broke out after the collapse in the magnitude-6.3 shake hit at 12.51pm killing a total of 185 people across the city.
The commission had asked the Fire Service if it had carried out an investigation, what it thought the cause was and if it had any records of potentially hazardous substances inside the building at the time of the fire.
The Fire Service replied to say there was no investigation done at the time, because it had been focused on rescue and recovery.
An investigation was hampered because of delays and the depth of the fire, making photos and witness accounts useless.
But it did conclude there may had been a 9kg gas cylinder inside the building at the time. It could have leaked and sparked the fire, it 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 Mills said one of the major issues will be the NZ Standards, and the building and design standards it was built to in the mid-80s.
He said there were two relevant standards at the time: Whether it was designed around ductility and if it was able to go into an "elastic stage" during shakes, and if it would rebound to its original state, or suffer damage but not collapse, would cause debate, he said.
Whether it met standards was a "very live issue", with experts disagreeing on some key issues.
Today, evidence will be heard from seven survivors who were inside the building when it collapsed.
The hearing is being heard at St Teresa's church hall in Riccarton, Christchurch.
The royal commission has until November 12 to deliver its final report.
