HONG KONG: Bamboo scaffolding and mesh, a centuries-old building tradition carried over from mainland China, have come under sharp scrutiny after Hong Kong's deadliest fire in three decades.

While the origin of the blaze was unclear, there was no hiding the ease with which the fire rapidly spread across the green netting and sent bamboo lattices crashing to the ground in flames, exposing the risks of relying on such flammable construction materials.

At lease 146 people died, while forty remain missing.

For decades in Hong Kong, bamboo has been the material of choice for scaffolding - cheap, abundant, and flexible - bound together with nylon cords.

Viewed as symbolising grace and moral fortitude, bamboo has, since ancient times, been a cornerstone of architecture, even reputedly used for scaffolding and tools in the building of the Great Wall in China.

Although it has largely been phased out in China in favor of sturdier metal scaffolding and clamps, Hong Kong still has around 2,500 registered bamboo scaffolding masters plying their trade, according to official figures.

The number of metal scaffolders is around triple that.

Small teams of scaffolders scrambling up vertiginous, gleaming facades to sheathe a building in a matter of weeks is an iconic sight in the global financial hub.

The bamboo lattices are also often used to prevent debris from injuring passers-by, as was the case in the tower blocks at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Hong Kong's northern Tai Po district.

In March, the government announced that 50 percent of new public works contracts would require the use of metal scaffolding.

But the emphasis seemed to be more on worker safety than on fire risks. Some 22 people died between 2019 and 2024 in related incidents.

Despite the safety push, Hong Kong's Secretary for Labour Chris Sun said in July that "the government has no intention to ban the use of bamboo scaffolds at the moment."

In October, a massive bamboo scaffolding caught fire at the Chinachem Tower in the Central Business District. Again, fire consumed construction netting and bamboo poles, leaving windows burnt out and external walls badly seared.

The Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims in Hong Kong said in a Facebook post that there had been at least two other fires involving bamboo scaffolding this year.

Protective nets, screens, and tarpaulin or plastic sheeting installed on the face of scaffolding "should have appropriate fire retardant properties in compliance with a recognised standard," says the Hong Kong Labour Department's Code of Practice for Bamboo Scaffolding Safety.

Jason Poon, a whistleblower, said in a Facebook post on November 26 that there were fire hazards in scaffolding at many housing complexes.

He said he had asked various government departments last year about the lack of fire retardant in scaffolding nets at another complex, but he was ignored.

Reuters also received no immediate response from the fire, building, and labour departments to a request for comment.

(Photo credit: CGTN).