By Annabelle Tukia
A Manchester St building that partially collapsed. killing a barman as he rushed outside, has been the focus of the Canterbury earthquake royal commission today.
Jamie Gilbert was working only his second day-shift at the bar when the February 22 quake struck.
The images of Ahsei Sopoaga heaving blocks of masonry off Mr Gilbert in the aftermath of the quake became enduring images of the tragedy. It's footage that Amy Cooney, Jamie's sister, still finds hard to watch.
"This is sometime after they're still pulling the rubble off Jamie and that's me screaming out for him," she says.
The pair were struck by falling masonry as they tried to escape the Manchester St bar in which they worked.
Ms Cooney told the hearing she'd only been working at the bar since the beginning of February, but already she had concerns about how safe it was.
"I knew that it had been red-stickered and I knew the plywood bracing was insufficient, particularly because I said it didn't appear to be based against anything on the inside."
The Earthquake Commission was told the building was earthquake-strengthened in 1993 and 2004 but was red-stickered after the Boxing Day quake because the eastern wall was badly damaged.
Temporary repairs, which included plywood and steel bracing, was overseen by structural engineer Chris Gordon.
"It wasn't pretty but it was there to put the building back to the strength that it had before the earthquake," he says.
The repairs meant the building was reopened for business on New Years' Eve.
The hearing was told plans for permanent repairs were requested by the building owner's loss adjuster just 10 days before the February quake struck.
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