Bamboo scaffolding under scrutiny following devastating Hong Kong high-rise fire

Bamboo scaffolding has been blamed for contributing to the spread of an enormous high-rise building fire in Hong Kong that has claimed at least 55 lives.

The blaze broke out at the Wang Fuk Court residential apartment complex in Hong Kong's Tai Po district on Wednesday afternoon.

It then spread across seven of the complex's eight 32-storey buildings, with firefighters continuing to battle the blaze more than 24 hours later.

Hundreds still missing

More than 70 have been injured in addition to the 55 confirmed dead, according to Hong Kong's Hospital Authority, while nearly 300 people are still missing.

Investigations into the cause and spread of the fire are ongoing, but attention so far has focused on bamboo scaffolding and construction materials on the buildings' exteriors.

The fire reportedly started on the external scaffolding of one tower before spreading via the scaffolding and green construction netting to the inside of the building and to neighbouring buildings, fanned by hot and windy weather.

Police said they found highly flammable Styrofoam attached to windows on the unaffected tower.

Bamboo scaffolding is widely used in Hong Kong, though the government announced earlier this year that its use will be phased out for public projects over worker safety concerns, without banning it entirely.

Meanwhile, authorities have indicated that they believe some of the implicated materials did not comply with regulations.

The Hong Kong Labour Department's Code of Practice for Bamboo Scaffolding Safety states that any protective nets, screens, tarpaulin or plastic sheeting installed on scaffolding "should have appropriate fire retardant properties in compliance with a recognised standard".

Police arrested three men – two directors and an engineering consultant from the same construction company – on suspicion of manslaughter, without naming the company.

"We have reason to believe that those in charge of the construction company were grossly negligent," the Associated Press (AP) reported senior superintendent Eileen Chung as saying.

The AP has also reported that Prestige Construction & Engineering Company is in charge of ongoing renovation works at the complex, with police searching the firm's offices on Thursday.

Scaffolding to be inspected city-wide

Hong Kong's leader John Lee has said that officials will be carrying out inspections of all housing estates across the city that are undergoing major renovation work to check that scaffolding and construction materials meet safety standards.

Built in the 1980s, Wang Fuk Court is privately owned but subsidised housing, and comprised nearly 2,000 apartments for around 4,800 residents.

Around 900 people were in temporary shelters overnight.

Hong Kong is one of the most high-rise cities in the world. This is not the first time that bamboo scaffolding has been implicated in a fire there.

A massive bamboo scaffolding caught fire at the Chinachem Tower in the central business district in October, injuring four people.

The photo is by Leung Man Hei/EPA/Shutterstock.

The post Bamboo scaffolding under scrutiny following devastating Hong Kong high-rise fire appeared first on Dezeen.