A worker removes netting from bamboo scaffolding at a residential building under renovation in Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. Hong Kong ordered all buildings undergoing major repair work to immediately remove exterior scaffolding nets, as authorities investigate suspicions of forged safety certifications in connection with the city’s recent deadly blaze. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg
Residents, construction professionals and former senior officials are pushing back against the idea that bamboo scaffolding was the 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.
