Asia
Bamboo scaffolding, an iconic part of Hong Kong, is at the heart of the deadly fire probe

Years after it was replaced in mainland China, bamboo scaffolding is still a common sight in the Chinese territory, but may be phased out after the devastating Wang Fuk Court blaze.

Nov. 27, 2025, 1:07 PM EST / Updated Nov. 27, 2025, 1:35 PM EST
By Jennifer Jett, Peter Guo, Ed Flanagan and Jay Ganglani

HONG KONG — Kan Shui-ying was home alone on Wednesday, watching television at her Hong Kong apartment while her husband and son were at work. It was around 3 p.m., she said, when she “smelled a strong burning odor.” ... She thought she might be boiling something, so she went to check. ... “I opened the window to see if there was anything,” Kan told NBC News. “Just then, a friend called me and said, ‘Wang Fuk Court is on fire!’” ... Grabbing only her phone, Kan went downstairs to see what was going on and found the fire was already “burning very fiercely.” ... “I thought I was just coming down to take a quick look,” she said, not realizing “that it was such a serious disaster.”

Kan and her family are among hundreds who lost their homes in the fire at the high-rise housing complex in Hong Kong’s northern Tai Po district. At least 83 people are dead and dozens of others missing in the Chinese territory’s deadliest blaze in seven decades.

Investigators are focusing on the bamboo scaffolding and mesh netting that surrounded the eight towers at Wang Fuk Court, seven of which were engulfed in flames. Three people from a contractor hired to carry out renovations have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, amid questions as to whether the building materials failed to meet safety standards and helped spread the fire.

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Bamboo scaffolding, a tradition with roots in ancient Chinese architecture, is an iconic part of Hong Kong, an international financial hub where skyscrapers are the norm. Bound together by nylon cords, the lattices are used for new construction as well as buildings under renovation.

Construction workers with specialized training in bamboo scaffolding — known as “spidermen” — scramble hundreds of feet up the sides of gleaming buildings in Hong Kong, a densely populated city of 7.5 million people. The scaffolding is often covered in mesh safety nets in green and other colors to prevent debris from falling onto pedestrians below. ... “Bamboo scaffolding has its benefits,” said Yau Yung, a professor at Lingnan University in Hong Kong who studies housing. “Not just because of the low cost, but also it can be flexible.”

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The latest fire has also drawn comparisons to the 2017 inferno at Grenfell Tower in London, which killed 72 people in a single 24-story building. That blaze was found to have been caused by flammable cladding outside the tower, among other factors.

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Jennifer Jett is the Asia Digital Editor for NBC News, b Hong Kong.

Peter Guo
Peter Guo is an associate producer based in Hong Kong.

Ed Flanagan
Ed Flanagan is a Hong Kong-based producer for NBC News. He has been part of the NBC News team in China since 2005 and has covered the region from North Korea to Japan as well.

Jay Ganglani
Jay Ganglani is NBC News's 2025-26 Asia Desk Fellow. Previously he was an NBC News Asia Desk intern and a Hong Kong-based freelance journalist who has contributed to news publications such as CNN, Fortune and the South China Morning Post.