Frustrated Christchurch business people stormed through one of the inner-city earthquake cordons into the red zone on Monday.
Many say they are desperate to get equipment out of their badly damaged offices and shops in order to set up somewhere else.
The crowd of about 100 shop and bar owners, small business owners and property developers are frustrated at what they say is a lack of communication from Civil Defence.
On Monday, they protested outside the Civil Defence headquarters at the Arts Centre. But after getting no response, they decided to storm into the red zone - the area most damaged by the quake on 22 February.
Army personnel were unable to stop them from going through the barrier, saying all they could ask was that people take care.
One or two business people managed to run down the streets towards their shops. However, police quickly arrived at the scene and ordered everyone out of the cordon.
Police say no arrests were made, but some warnings were issued.
Some business people say they plan to protest daily, but police warn arrests will be made if the group breaches the cordon again.
The demolition of 17 buildings in the central city was recently approved even though their owners could not be found. The removal of buildings without consent has sparked concern and criticism since the quake.
Kishor Singh owns two buildings in the city and says it has been impossible to get through to the Civil Defence. He is angry some buildings have been demolished without the owners' consent.
"This is just criminal what Civil Defence is doing - they're destroying private property. I think they need permission and need to talk to building owners before they proceed.
"The rear part of my building on High Street has been deconstructed by Civil Defence. They had my contact details on their website but they never bothered to call me."
Warning CBD still dangerous
Civil Defence national controller Steve Brazier says safety is the priority for the agency when allowing business people back into the central city and described their actions on Monday as dumb.
Mr Brazier says pushing aside soldiers and police trying to do their job means more resources have to be put into enforcing the cordon.
Both Mr Brazier and Christchurch police Superintendent Andy McGregor told Checkpoint on Monday that the CBD remains a very dangerous environment.
Mr McGregor says there are still parts of buildings coming down after a sharp 5.1-magnitude aftershock on Sunday night and anyone who breaks the cordon is risking their life.
Demolition ban extended
A moratorium on demolition in central Christchurch has been extended until Friday.
Civil Defence controller Steve Brazier says one of the issues the agency is facing is that often business owners are not the same as the building owners.
Mr Brazier says Civil Defence wants to make every effort to connect with the right people, but they need to register with its business recovery group.
Some 3500 business owners have registered and 500 will have been taken into the cordon by the end of this week, he says.
