What makes the bamboo scaffolding used in Hong Kong so dangerous?

In addition to being combustible, the bamboo scaffolding used in Hong Kong can also become more fragile due to weather conditions.

At least 83 people died and more than 250 are missing after a massive fire ripped through an apartment complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district. The fire, which spread to several skyscrapers, is still active.

The exact cause of the fire, which started shortly before 3pm local time on Wednesday, is is still unknown. Hong Kong police have detained three executives from a construction company on suspicion of voluntary manslaughter.

The apartment buildings have 31 floors. Opened in 1983, they were undergoing renovation work at the time of the fire and were covered by bamboo scaffolding and green protective screens.

Bamboo scaffolding has been a feature of the city for centuries. But why? The answer is part historical, part engineering and part economic.

But the recent tragedy intensified focus on security against fire and when and where bamboo should be used.

A fast-growing grass

Bamboo is a fast-growing grass with hollow, tubular stems (known as “culms”). These tubes give you a high strength/weight ratio. A pole is light enough to be carried up a staircase, but strong enough, when properly fixed and tied, to support platforms and workers.

Crews tie the poles to compact grids and secure them to buildings with brackets and anchors. Properly designed, a bamboo scaffold can resist wind and workloads.

The Hong Kong Buildings Department and Labor Department publish clear guidelines on the design and construction of bamboo scaffolding.

Bamboo scaffolding is also used in parts of mainland China, India and throughout Southeast Asia and South America.

A cheap and flexible material

There are three main reasons why bamboo scaffolding is used in Hong Kong.

In the first place, the speed. An experienced team can “wrap” a building quickly because the posts are lightweight and can be cut to fit irregular shapes. This is important in narrow streets with limited access to cranes.

Secondly, the cost. Bamboo costs much less than metal systems, allowing contractors to keep budgets low. The material is also easy to find locally, which keeps routine repairs and repainting within budget.

Thirdly, tradition and skill. Bamboo scaffolding appears in a famous Chinese artwork, “Along the River During the Qingming Festival,” painted by Zhang Zeduan, who lived between 1085 and 1145. Hong Kong still trains and certifies bamboo scaffolders, and the craft remains part of the city’s construction culture.

These factors explain why bamboo continues to be visible in the city’s urban landscape, even with the predominance of metallic systems elsewhere.

Unlike the metal produced in blast furnaces, the bamboo also regeneratesand turning a stem into a pole requires little processing. This means that its global climate impact is smaller.

What are the risks?

There are two main risks to bamboo scaffolding.

The first, as this tragedy in Hong Kong highlights, It’s the fire.

O dry bamboo is fueland the green plastic screen often used on scaffolding can also burn quickly.

In the Tai Po fire, images and reports indicate that the fire spread quickly through the scaffolding and screen, and across the facade of the buildings.

This is why there is a call for the use of temporary non-combustible structures in occupied towers – or, at the very least, flame retardant screenstreated bamboo and openings in the scaffolding so that the fire does not easily spread from one space to another.

The second risk of using bamboo scaffolding is related to the variability and climatic conditions.

Bamboo is a natural material, so its resistance varies according to the species, age and humidity. To the tethers can come loose and storms pose a common risk.

Hong Kong’s updated guidelines and standards attempt to manage this with rules for materials (such as age, diameter and drying), mandatory tie-downs to the structure, steel supports and anchorage tests, as well as frequent inspections – especially before bad weather.

A switch to metal

In March 2025, the Hong Kong Development Department mandated that metal scaffolding be adopted in at least 50% of new contracts of government public works. It also encouraged the use of metal in maintenance, whenever feasible.

Subsequent government responses to the Legislative Council in June and July reiterated the 50% requirement and outlined a progressive transition based on the viability of the project.

Private projects can also use bamboo, in accordance with current regulations. But for public works, the default is now metalsignaling a shift to non-combustible systems.

The lesson from Hong Kong is not that bamboo is “good” or “bad” for scaffolding – it’s about context. It has clear advantages for small scale workshort-lived and anchored to the ground, where streets are narrow and budgets are limited. But in tall, occupied residential buildings, especially with mesh-clad facades, their fire risk and variability require much more stringent controls.

Bamboo scaffolding helped build Hong Kong’s skyline by being fast, smart and affordable. The science behind fire and the realities of life in skyscrapers now demand a more rigorous approach: use the right tool for each task and, when risks increase, opt for non-combustible systems.

In this way, the city can honor a traditional craft, while maintaining the safety of people in homes surrounded by these scaffolds.