HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in three decades has highlighted its risky use of flammable bamboo scaffolding and mesh for building work in a tradition dating back centuries to mainland China. Authorities have not determined the cause of the blaze, but images from the scene showed the fire spreading rapidly across green netting covering the scaffolding erected around the housing complex.

Some of the bamboo lattices crashed to the ground in flames. For decades in the skyscraper-strewn former British colony, bamboo has been the material of choice for scaffolding – cheap, abundant and flexible – bound together with nylon cords.

The craft originated on mainland China where bamboo, viewed as symbolizing grace and moral fortitude, has since ancient times been a cornerstone of architecture, even reputedly used for scaffolding and tools in the building of the Great Wall.

Metal scaffolding becoming more prominent

Now, though, it has largely been phased out in Mainland China for sturdier metal scaffolding and clamps. But Hong Kong, despite its modernity, still has around 2,500 registered bamboo scaffolding masters, 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 a familiar sight in the global financial hub.

The bamboo lattices are also often used alongside green construction mesh 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.

Scaffolding checks promised

The fire that began Wednesday afternoon killed at least 55 people with nearly 300 missing. Hong Kong police said on Thursday that “the building’s exterior walls had protective nets, membranes, waterproof tarpaulins, and plastic sheets suspected of not meeting fire safety standards.”

The city’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said it had launched an investigation, while Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee said a task force had been set up to investigate the cause of the blaze. He said the government would check whether scaffolding mesh materials meet fire retardant standards and other safety standards on other projects.

Police arrested two directors of the contractor responsible for the renovation of the building and a consultant on manslaughter charges after finding materials were used in construction that did not meet safety standards.

The company, Prestige Construction & Engineering, did not answer repeated requests for comment.

In March, the government said 50% of new public works contracts would be required to use metal scaffolding going forward.

But the emphasis appeared to be more on worker safety rather than fire risks. There were 22 deaths involving bamboo scaffolders between 2019 and 2024, according to official figures.

Lee told reporters on Thursday that Hong Kong’s government was considering mandating the use of metal scaffolding in the future and had met with industry to discuss a phase-out of bamboo. In October, a massive bamboo scaffolding caught fire at the Chinachem Tower in the Central business district. 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 tarpaulins or plastic sheeting installed on the face of scaffolding “should have appropriate fire retardant properties in compliance with a recognized standard,” says the Hong Kong Labour Department’s Code of Practice for Bamboo Scaffolding Safety.

Whistle-blower points to risks in other housing blocks

Jason Poon, a whistle-blower who has previously exposed shoddy construction work in Hong Kong, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that fire hazard risks existed in scaffolding at many housing complexes.

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

Hong Kong’s fire and building safety regulators did not respond to a request to comment.

“Of course, in terms of material, metal scaffolding is less flammable. That’s a fact,” said Chau Sze Kit, chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union. But he said the fire risk for bamboo scaffolding could be limited if a construction management team takes the right steps.

“Fires on scaffolding usually happen because construction debris accumulates on it – things like paper, towels, clothing, or other flammable materials,” he told Reuters. “Poor management leads to these incidents.”

HONG KONG/BEIJING – A huge fire still burning in a Hong Kong high-rise apartment complex that has killed at least 55 people with almost 300 missing poses the biggest test of Beijing’s grip on the city it has transformed since the mass pro-democracy protests of 2019.

Under sweeping legislative changes, pro-democracy voices and other critics have been silenced and elections limited to “patriotic” candidates, with the next legislative council poll set for December 7.

The fire struck as Hong Kong braces for the sentencing of media tycoon Jimmy Lai – the most prominent of hundreds of pro-democracy figures and activists facing lengthy jail terms under national security and protest-related charges.

“I think Beijing is attaching great importance to two issues – number one, how will the government handle this tragedy? And secondly, will we see a changing perception of the citizens on the Hong Kong government,” said Sonny Lo, a political scientist who has written several books on Hong Kong politics.

“The government has done well on national security, but national security includes a human security dimension.”

The leadership of both the Hong Kong government and China’s Communist Party moved quickly to show they attached utmost importance to the tragedy, with police targetting the construction company in charge of the renovations.

Hong Kong’s sky-high property prices have long been a trigger for discontent and the tragedy could stoke resentment towards authorities despite their efforts to tighten political and national security control, analysts said.

From faulty fire alarms to workers smoking cigarettes and the risks of traditional bamboo scaffolding, many residents questioned whether risks were ignored and safety systems installed and operational.

As they huddled in shelters, some criticized what they saw as negligence and cost-cutting as a cause of the fire, echoing similar sentiments online.

Around 10 p.m. on Wednesday night – with flames still shooting out of windows – Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing urged an “all-out effort” to extinguish the fire and to minimize casualties and losses, according to state media reports.

Xi “expressed sympathy to the families of the victims and those affected by the disaster” and “attached great importance to the accident and immediately sought updates on the rescue efforts and casualties.”

Four hours later, Hong Kong leader John Lee held a news conference after touring shelters for survivors of the blaze.

Some 4,600 people live in the complex’s eight towers, seven of which caught fire.

“The priority is to extinguish the fire and rescue the residents who are trapped,” Lee said. “The second is to support the injured. The third is to support and recover. Then, we’ll launch a thorough investigation.”

But at 5:54 a.m., only three hours after Lee’s news conference and before the fire was fully under control, police announced the cause of its spread and said three officials from the construction company had been arrested.

As well as the towers being covered with sheets of protective mesh and plastic that may not meet fire standards, some windows on one unaffected building were sealed with a foam material that had been installed by a construction company carrying out maintenance work, police said.

“We have reason to believe that the company’s responsible parties were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties,” said Eileen Chung, a Hong Kong police superintendent.

Three men from the construction company, two directors and one engineering consultant, had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over the fire, she added.

Questions of accountability

While protests are relatively tightly controlled in Hong Kong, a full range of online forums remain accessible and are likely to offer an early barometer of the public mood.

Analysts say public anger and concern may spread beyond the construction firms to the government’s fire safety and building regulators and pressure is likely to build for extensive and open investigations into what happened.

Traditionally, the Hong Kong government has staged open inquiries into large-scale tragedies, often headed by an independent judge.

One comparison raised by experts is a commission of inquiry into a fire in a Kowloon commercial building that killed 41 people in 1996, a year before the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China.

That inquiry sparked new building and fire safety laws and regulations. But it may no longer be enough.

“I believe we need to seriously review fire safety and site safety management across the entire industry, including government oversight,” said Chau Sze Kit, chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union.