A major fire that broke out at a high-rise residential complex in Hong Kong killed at least 44 people and nearly 280 people are still believed to be unaccounted for. The exact cause of the fire is still unclear, but the bamboo scaffolding and green construction netting may have helped the flames move quickly through the apartments, according to a report by The Guardian. The report, citing experts, said that the fire may have spread faster partly because the buildings were covered with bamboo scaffolding.
Role of bamboo scaffolding in Hong Kong fire
Bamboo is traditionally used in construction in Hong Kong, but authorities have been planning to replace it due to safety risks. The fire, which erupted on Wednesday, was the deadliest the city has seen in decades. It took place at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in Tai Po, in the New Territories. The complex has eight towers, each 31 storeys tall, with nearly 2,000 flats and about 4,800 residents.
According to the South China Morning Post, it could have been the styrofoam that helped the fire spread quickly through hallways and set homes on several floors ablaze. Police said the buildings were wrapped in protective mesh and plastic, which may not meet fire safety standards. They also found that some windows on a nearby building were sealed with foam by a construction company doing maintenance work.
Investigators are still trying to determine the exact cause of the fire, but they suspect that the bamboo scaffolding and green mesh covering the building helped the flames spread quickly, the report mentioned.
Bamboo scaffolding: A cultural but risky practice
Hong Kong is one of the few places that still uses bamboo widely in construction. The bamboo poles, tied together and wrapped around tall buildings, are a common sight. Builders value bamboo because it is light, affordable and part of a long cultural tradition that goes back thousands of years. However, most construction sites in mainland China have now switched to metal scaffolding.
In March, the Hong Kong government announced plans to slowly stop the use of bamboo and replace it with fire-resistant steel. Officials said that half of all public construction work should use metal scaffolding in the future. Metal also handles Hong Kong’s humid climate better and does not rot like bamboo.
Safety record raises concerns
According to official data, 23 people have died in construction accidents involving bamboo scaffolding since 2018, as per the report.
However, some workers are against the change. The Hong Kong and Kowloon Bamboo Scaffolding Workers Union says that building bamboo scaffolds requires highly trained experts, and they fear many jobs will be lost if bamboo is replaced with steel.