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Whereas the cause of that deadly hellfire which spread throughout the country hong kong The apartment complex remains unidentified, with questions raised over the role of the bamboo scaffolding covering the buildings at the time of the fire.
The fire, which has killed at least 55 people, has focused attention on the use of ancient construction techniques dating back more than 1,000 years.
Bamboo poles tied together using wire and other strong materials are often found on construction sites Southeast AsiaHong Kong is one of the few major cities where such scaffolding is a common sight,
Poles cut from 3-year-old bamboo plants are light, cheap and easy to transport. These are considered easy to install and remove from tight spaces found in a densely populated city like Hong Kong.
In the event of an accident, such as a collapse, they are considered less dangerous than heavy metal poles.
Bamboo poles are usually imported from neighboring country Zhaoxing Guangdong province, or from the surrounding southern provinces guangxi Or Guilin.
Bamboo scaffolding is also used for temporary structures, such as outdoor theatres.
But Hong Kong is also moving toward phasing out the use of bamboo. A memorandum from Hong Kong’s Development Secretary in March said the city planned “progressively widespread adoption of metal scaffolding in public construction works.”
According to the Construction Industry Council, there are approximately 2,500 registered bamboo scaffolds in Hong Kong. Since 2018, 23 people have lost their lives in accidents related to bamboo scaffolding.
In the case of a fire that broke out at a high-rise residential complex in Tai Po district on Wednesday, it was not immediately clear how the fire started. Officials have so far cited flammable construction materials such as plastic mesh and Styrofoam panels used as window coverings as major factors in the rapid spread of the fire.
The fire started in one of Wang Phuc Court’s eight 32-storey towers, then quickly spread to seven buildings. It is clear that a large part, but not all, of the bamboo that surrounded the buildings was burnt down during their restoration.
Police He said they had arrested three people – directors of a construction company and an engineering consultant – on suspicion of murder. Officials said they suspected that some materials on the exterior walls of the high-rise buildings did not meet fire resistance standards, allowing the fire to spread unusually quickly.
Whatever the outcome of the investigation into the cause of the fire, it appears that bamboo’s days of use may be numbered.