Hong Kong Scaffold Net Burns Despite Safety Certificate as Fatal Fire Prompts Overhaul

A passing certificate, then flames and burning droplets

A laboratory test on scaffold netting from a large Hong Kong housing estate has exposed a troubling gap between safety paperwork and the way materials behave in a fire. The green plastic mesh carried documentation showing that it met official standards. When exposed to flame under controlled conditions, it ignited and shed flaming droplets.

The finding has intensified scrutiny of renovation safety after the November 26 fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po killed at least 159 people, displaced thousands and affected seven of the estate's eight towers. As of December 8, 2025, authorities were investigating unsafe materials, suspected deception during inspections and allegedly forged safety documents, while preparing new requirements for testing netting before installation.

Debris nets catch falling materials and help protect pedestrians during exterior repairs. In Hong Kong, they commonly cover bamboo scaffolding that extends up residential towers and can remain in place for months. Mesh that is not flame resistant can become a continuous source of fuel across a building's exterior.

Burning plastic creates another danger when it melts and falls. Those droplets can ignite materials below, carry fire across gaps and start fresh fires inside flats through open windows. The laboratory result has therefore brought two connected problems into focus: whether accepted tests capture these hazards, and whether the materials installed on buildings actually match their certificates.

The government has responded with a citywide removal order, extensive sampling and plans to change how scaffold nets are tested and approved. Contractors and residents now face disrupted renovation work alongside an investigation into how dangerous materials reached occupied buildings.

What happened when the mesh was tested?

The laboratory exposed a sample of green plastic scaffold mesh to flame. It caught fire and produced flaming droplets despite having a safety report indicating that it met official acceptance criteria. Each droplet was a piece of burning plastic capable of carrying heat and fuel to another surface.

Tests for thin plastics typically examine how quickly flames spread and whether droplets form and continue burning. Different standards can place different weight on these results: some penalize dripping, while others concentrate on flame spreading across a surface. A material can therefore satisfy a particular acceptance criterion while still presenting a hazard that needs separate attention.

The precise test method behind the sample's passing documentation was not given. The concern raised by the result is straightforward: a certificate accepted under existing rules accompanied a net that ignited and actively dripped when exposed to flame.

A tower also presents conditions that a small laboratory sample cannot fully reproduce. Netting covers a large vertical area, exposing substantial surface to heat and wind. As the plastic heats, it may soften, pull away from its ties and sag toward the flames, adding more fuel.

Burning droplets can then set fire to materials below the original ignition point. That gives a blaze several places to grow at once and can allow it to move between floors faster than a simple test suggests. The laboratory finding has strengthened calls to rewrite testing rules as well as tighten enforcement.

Investigators examine substitution and staged samples

Investigators examining Wang Fuk Court say several hazards came together. After a summer typhoon damaged renovation materials, some contractors allegedly replaced compliant netting with cheaper mesh that failed to meet fire safety requirements.

Officials say compliant netting was reportedly placed near the base of the scaffolding, where inspectors often take samples, while inferior material was installed higher up. This arrangement could make an accessible sample appear satisfactory even when much of the covering above it was unsafe.

Seven of 20 net samples taken from the estate after the fire failed safety checks. That is 35 percent of the samples tested, a substantial share of the material examined at a site where residents had been living behind the renovation covering.

Police have arrested 21 people. They include 15 people from construction firms on suspicion of manslaughter and six from a fire service installation contractor on suspicion of fraud. The investigation has widened beyond construction firms and consultants to people accused of falsifying safety records.

Previous inspection practice often relied on a piece of netting or a supplier's certificate presented at the site. Checks concentrated at readily accessible locations could be manipulated by putting compliant material where inspectors were most likely to look. The planned overhaul is intended to address that weakness through random sampling at different heights and records tying installed mesh to verified batches.

Suspected forged certificates widen the inquiry

Investigators are also examining suspected forged documentation for scaffold netting used at other housing estates. They traced certificates to a manufacturer based in Shandong. One testing laboratory denied issuing a report, while another laboratory could not be reached.

City departments have seized documents and material samples from several sites. More than 1,000 samples from over 300 buildings are being tested, extending scrutiny well beyond Wang Fuk Court.

The suspected fraud puts the route from manufacturer to building under examination. A genuine report must be linked to the material actually delivered and installed. Otherwise, paperwork for one product can accompany a different product, or compliant mesh can be presented for testing while cheaper material is used elsewhere.

Strict chain of custody means keeping a traceable record of which material was sampled, where it came from and how it reached the laboratory. Random sampling at the site and testing by accredited laboratories before installation are central to the proposed changes. They address both the reliability of a test and the identity of the material being tested.

Why fire can travel quickly around a tower

Plastic mesh can melt into beads of fuel that fall while still burning. Those droplets can ignite items on scaffolding platforms, materials on lower floors, balcony belongings or curtains inside flats. Officials also pointed to foam boards around windows at Wang Fuk Court as material that fed the flames.

Many such foam boards are made from polystyrene, which ignites easily and produces intense heat. When netting and foam burn together, the amount of heat released increases, helping a fire grow more rapidly.

Vertical netting creates conditions in which rising hot gases heat the plastic above the flames. This chimney effect makes material higher up easier to ignite. Strong wind can push flames along the exterior, around corners and, where buildings are close together, across gaps between towers.

These processes help explain the scale of the Wang Fuk Court disaster, which affected seven of eight towers and lasted an estimated 40 hours. The combination of exterior netting, foam around windows and a tall building gave fire several routes to spread.

Many controlled tests concentrate on flame spread without reproducing strong wind, rising hot gases along a tall exterior or nearby combustible materials. A net with an acceptable flame spread rating may still release burning droplets. Each of those hazards matters when the material surrounds occupied homes.

Weathering adds another concern. Ultraviolet light and exposure to weather can degrade flame retardant additives in plastics. If the Wang Fuk Court netting had been on the exterior since mid July, months of sunshine and rain may have reduced its fire performance before November 26. That possibility is part of the concern about whether standards adequately account for materials aging while in use.

Bamboo comes under renewed scrutiny

Bamboo scaffolding is a familiar part of Hong Kong construction. It is light, quick to assemble and cheaper than steel. Specialist crews have developed the craft over generations, making it an established part of the city's building work.

The fire has sharpened disagreement about bamboo's role. Some engineers argue that it is difficult to ignite and that netting and foam were the principal materials accelerating the blaze. Others point out that dry bamboo is combustible and adds fuel once it catches fire.

Online experiments show fresh bamboo tending to char before it flames. Conditions around a tall building wrapped in mesh involve wind, several possible ignition points and other burning materials, giving the debate a wider scope than the behavior of a single piece of bamboo.

The emerging recommendation from specialists is to use noncombustible temporary structures around occupied tall buildings wherever possible. Where bamboo remains in use, recommendations include treatment of the bamboo, flame resistant nets and connections that limit the gap between scaffolding and the building, which can act as a chimney.

Regular inspections, suitable ties and plans for days with high winds are also basic controls. Authorities have already encouraged more metal scaffolding in public projects. Several specialists favor metal systems or other noncombustible approaches for tall occupied estates, where an exterior fire can put large numbers of residents at risk.

Removal orders interrupt renovations across Hong Kong

The government ordered the immediate removal of exterior scaffolding nets from all buildings undergoing major repair work in the days after the disaster. The directive covered more than 200 private buildings and about a dozen public housing or government projects.

Contractors must pay the removal costs. Renovation work has paused across large parts of Hong Kong while inspectors check whether any remaining netting meets safety standards.

At a large estate in Sha Tin, workers began dismantling mesh within hours of the directive. Some residents welcomed the removal because they believed it reduced the risk of another disaster. The response has made netting safety an immediate issue for households far beyond Tai Po.

The key events span several months:

• Mid July: the possible installation period cited for Wang Fuk Court's netting, raising concern about months of exposure to sunshine and rain.
• Summer: a typhoon damaged renovation materials, after which investigators allege that some contractors substituted cheaper, noncompliant netting.
• November 26: the Wang Fuk Court fire began, eventually affecting seven of the estate's eight towers.
• The days after the fire: authorities ordered net removal and expanded inspections and sampling across Hong Kong.
• December 8: investigations, material testing and preparations for new rules and a judge led inquiry were continuing.

New rules will link testing to each batch

Officials say a new Buildings Department code will require every batch of scaffold netting to be sampled at the site and tested at designated facilities before installation. Each sample will be tied to a specific lot through traceable documentation.

Inspectors will no longer accept certificates from unknown laboratories or laboratories whose reports cannot be verified. Planned requirements also include random samples from various heights, designated laboratory testing and batch identification linking each piece of installed mesh to its verified report.

Chief Executive John Lee has asked a committee led by a judge to investigate the fire and review oversight of building renovation. Officials also plan to review building management systems amid allegations of tender rigging and poor maintenance practices that left residents exposed.

Regulators still need to settle which fire test methods will apply to scaffold mesh, how those tests will address flaming droplets and aging, and how laboratory accreditation and report authenticity will be checked. Inspection coverage across hundreds of sites and possible wider restrictions on bamboo for tall occupied buildings are also under consideration. No implementation date for the new code or timetable for the inquiry was given.

The practical measure of the changes will be whether every installed roll can be traced to a genuine tested batch, whether inspectors can detect substitutions throughout a building's height, and how quickly active renovation sites become safer.

Thousands of residents face loss and displacement

Wang Fuk Court was home to roughly 4,600 people. The disaster was Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades, with authorities reporting at least 159 deaths and dozens of people still missing. Police say 140 bodies have been identified.

More than 2,900 residents are in temporary accommodation. Some are staying in hostels, camps or hotels, while others have moved into transitional housing units. Foreign domestic workers from Indonesia and the Philippines are among those still unaccounted for.

Donations for survivors have exceeded the equivalent of $115 million. Public and private funds are helping affected families obtain housing and basic supplies while they deal with the loss of homes, belongings and relatives.

Residents had complained for months about hazards associated with the renovation. Fire alarms reportedly did not work properly, foam boards covered windows and mesh wrapped the towers. Many residents have asked why stronger action did not come sooner.

Officials have also warned against spreading rumors, and at least one person who called for an independent inquiry has been detained. Grief, a widening criminal investigation and heightened sensitivity around public criticism have created a tense atmosphere as residents wait for answers.

What safer renovation checks need to cover

Project managers need to establish that installed materials match their documentation. Recognized laboratory reports, traceable batch numbers and sample photographs matching the mesh on the building are practical checks. Labels alone leave too much of the material's identity unverified.

Random sampling at the site and independent tests before installation can help detect substitution. Where budgets permit, noncombustible systems such as metal scaffolding are preferable. If plastic mesh is used, a credible flame test should address both flame spread and burning droplets.

Inspections also need to check whether foam boards or other coverings around windows ignite easily. Netting, window protection, scaffolding, ties and the spaces between them form the immediate surroundings of occupied homes during repairs. Their combined behavior matters when fire breaks out.

The laboratory finding and Wang Fuk Court investigation point to a linked set of responsibilities: suitable test requirements, genuine certificates, verified batches and inspections capable of finding unsafe material wherever it has been installed. The new code and the judge led review will be judged by how directly they address those responsibilities and reduce risk at buildings still undergoing work.

Key Points

• A scaffold net sample ignited and shed burning droplets despite documentation showing that it met official safety standards.
• The November 26 Wang Fuk Court fire killed at least 159 people, affected seven of eight towers and lasted an estimated 40 hours.
• Investigators allege that cheaper, noncompliant mesh replaced damaged netting and compliant material was positioned near the ground to mislead inspectors.
• Seven of 20 net samples from the estate failed safety tests.
• Police arrested 21 people, including 15 on suspicion of manslaughter and six on suspicion of fraud.
• Suspected forged certificates are under investigation, and more than 1,000 samples from over 300 buildings are being tested.
• Net removal orders covered more than 200 private buildings and about a dozen public housing or government projects, with contractors paying the costs.
• Planned rules require sampling at the site, designated laboratory testing and traceable batch records before netting is installed.
• More than 2,900 residents are in temporary accommodation, and donations have exceeded the equivalent of $115 million.
• John Lee has requested a judge led inquiry into the fire and renovation oversight, alongside a planned review of building management systems.