Hong Kong fire may speed up moves to end use of iconic bamboo scaffolding

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BANGKOK (AP) — While the cause of the deadly inferno that swept across a Hong Kong apartment complex remains unknown, questions have been raised about the role of the bamboo scaffolding that enveloped the buildings at the time of the fire.

The blaze, which has left at least 55 dead, has focused attention on the use of the ancient construction technique dating back over 1,000 years.

Bamboo poles lashed together using wire and other strong materials are often found at construction sites in Southeast Asia. Hong Kong is one of the few major cities where such scaffolding is a common sight.

The poles, harvested from 3-year-old bamboo plants, are lightweight, inexpensive and easy to transport. They’re seen as easier to install and remove from the kinds of tight spaces found in a city as densely populated as Hong Kong.

In the case of an accident, such as a collapse, they are seen as less dangerous than heavy metal poles.

The bamboo poles are usually are imported from Zhaoxing, in neighboring Guangdong province, or from the nearby southern provinces of Guangxi or Guilin.

Bamboo scaffolding is also used for temporary structures, such as outdoor theaters.

But even Hong Kong is moving toward phasing out use of bamboo. A memo from Hong Kong’s secretary for development in March noted that the city planned to “drive a wider adoption of metal scaffolding in public building works progressively.”

According to Construction Industry Council, there are about 2,500 registered bamboo scaffolders in Hong Kong. Bamboo scaffolding-related accidents have claimed 23 lives since 2018.

In the case of the blaze at the high-rise residential complex in Tai Po district on Wednesday, it was not immediately clear how the fire started. Officials have so far pointed to flammable construction materials such as plastic netting and Styrofoam panels used as window coverings as key factors in the rapid spread of the fire.

The fire began at one of Wang Fuk Court's eight 32-story towers, then spread rapidly across seven buildings. It’s clear that a large share, but not all, of the bamboo that had encased the buildings as they underwent renovations was incinerated.

Police said they arrested three men — the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company — on suspicion of manslaughter. Authorities said they suspected some materials on the exterior walls of the high-rise buildings did not meet fire resistance standards, allowing the unusually fast spread of the fire.

Whatever the outcome of the investigation into what caused the fire, it appears the days of using bamboo may be numbered.