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December 5, 2025

Experts defend bamboo scaffolding after deadly fire

  • Some say putting the blame on bamboo diverts attention from systemic safety issues.
    • By CHAN HO-HIM
    AP Business Writer

    HONG KONG — Hong Kong residents, construction professionals and former senior officials are pushing back against the idea that bamboo scaffolding was a main reason flames spread so quickly in the city's deadliest blaze in decades, as a debate flares over whether it should be replaced.

    Authorities were quick to focus on the traditional scaffolding enveloping the apartment buildings at the Wang Fuk Court complex -- where the fatal Nov. 26 blaze spread from one tower to seven, killing at least 159 people. While much of the green netting covering the scaffolding incinerated, some of the bamboo scaffolding also burned and fell, and officials have stepped up plans to replace it.


     
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