Scaffold fires do not start with the steel tubes. They start with what wraps around them.
In November 2025, a blaze tore through the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong. Bamboo scaffolding and standard polyethylene debris netting fed the flames up the building facade. The incident claimed 168 lives and injured 79 people, according to the Hong Kong government's interim investigation report. The fire spread faster than emergency crews could contain it, in part because the combustible netting acted as a chimney-channeling heat and embers across multiple floors before anyone could react.
Singapore watched closely. On 24 September 2026, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced a package of measures that will change how scaffolding is procured, erected, and maintained in the city-state. The headline requirement is clear: from 1 March 2027, all scaffold netting installed on the exterior of buildings must meet fire-retardant specifications. From 1 March 2028, that netting must also carry third-party certification from a body accredited by the Singapore Accreditation Council.
This is not a footnote in a building code. It is a supply-chain pivot. Contractors, scaffold firms, and material suppliers who serve the Singapore market now have roughly five months to adjust procurement, validate product compliance, and reprice contracts.
What MOM Actually Mandates
The new rules have two legs-one targeting the scaffold structure itself, the other targeting the netting that envelops it.
Timber scaffolds: shorter permitted duration. From 1 January 2027, the normal allowable use period for timber scaffolds drops from nine months to three months. MOM's rationale is straightforward: combustible timber left on site for extended periods raises baseline fire risk. Exemptions will be considered case by case where technical constraints prevent the use of alternative scaffold types.
Exterior scaffold netting: mandatory fire-retardant specifications. From 1 March 2027, any netting used to wrap scaffolds erected outside buildings must meet fire-retardant standards set by the Commissioner for Workplace Safety and Health. The requirement applies to all projects awarded on or after that date, regardless of whether the scaffold itself is steel, aluminum, timber, or bamboo.
MOM and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) jointly reviewed acceptable test standards. The Commissioner will recognize netting that passes any one of the following:
- British Standards: BS 5867-2:2008 (Type B)
- Japanese Industrial Standards: JIS L 1091:1999 (Category 3 of Method A-1 or A-2, and Category 2 of Method D)
- US National Fire Protection Association: NFPA 701:2023 (Test Method 2)
A forthcoming circular will define labelling, scope, and detailed compliance procedures. MOM has not yet released the circular, so procurement teams should monitor the ministry's website for the exact test protocols and documentation formats.
Certification deadline: 1 March 2028. After this date, fire-retardant netting must be certified by an accredited certification body. The one-year gap between the specification deadline and the certification deadline gives manufacturers and suppliers time to complete testing and obtain accredited certificates. Do not treat it as slack time-accreditation queues can stretch for months, especially when an entire industry is trying to comply at once.
Why Bamboo Scaffolds Are Being Squeezed
Singapore's construction sector has relied on bamboo scaffolds for decades. They are light, cheap, and fast to lash together. But they are also fuel.
The new three-month limit on timber scaffolds does not ban bamboo outright. It compresses the economic window. A high-rise residential project that once might have left bamboo up for nine months now needs to dismantle and re-erect it every three months, or switch to a non-combustible system. The labour cost of repeated erection and dismantling tilts the maths toward steel or aluminum modular systems-particularly on jobs with long programmes.
Contractors who continue using bamboo will face tighter scheduling, more frequent inspections, and the administrative burden of exemption applications. For most mid-to-large-scale projects, the simpler path will be to spec steel or aluminum from the outset.
The Real Cost of Fire-Retardant Netting
Standard green debris netting is cheap-often less than a dollar per square metre at volume. Fire-retardant netting costs more. The exact premium depends on fabric weight, coating chemistry, and order size, but procurement managers should budget for a 30–60% uplift over standard grades.
That is only the material cost. The larger expense is documentation. Contractors must now trace netting back to a manufacturer who can produce test reports under one of the three recognized standards. From March 2028, they will need accredited certification, not just factory test reports. This shifts the burden down the supply chain: if your netting supplier cannot produce the right paperwork, you cannot use their product on a Singapore job.
Suppliers who get ahead of this-by pre-testing to BS, JIS, or NFPA standards and lining up SAC-accredited certification-will have a first-mover advantage when the March 2027 deadline hits.
What This Means for System Scaffolding
The regulation does not discriminate by scaffold material. Steel ring-lock, aluminum cup-lock, and modular frame systems all face the same netting requirement. But the combination of shorter timber allowances and mandatory fire-retardant netting pushes the market toward non-combustible structural systems.
Steel and aluminum system scaffolding-ring-lock, cup-lock, and frame configurations-already dominate high-rise and industrial projects in Singapore and across Southeast Asia. These systems use galvanized or powder-coated tubes, rosette or cup nodes, and bolt-free wedge connections. They do not burn. When paired with fire-retardant netting, the entire envelope moves from "fuel-rich" to "fuel-starved."
For suppliers and contractors, the practical implication is this: if you are already specifying steel or aluminum system scaffolding, you are halfway compliant. You only need to swap the netting. If you are still defaulting to bamboo, the new rule forces a material decision earlier in the project timeline.
Southeast Asia Context
Singapore is not acting in isolation. Malaysia introduced stricter construction-material standards in 2025. Hong Kong is reviewing its own scaffold-netting rules after the Wang Fuk Court fire. Indonesia and Vietnam have seen sporadic local bans on combustible site materials following high-profile incidents.
The direction of travel is clear: Southeast Asian regulators are treating scaffold netting as a fire-safety component, not an afterthought. Suppliers who build a product portfolio around fire-retardant accessories-netting, debris guards, flame-retardant tarpaulins-will find demand growing across the region, not just in Singapore.
Action Checklist for Procurement Teams
If you are sourcing scaffold materials for Singapore projects, the next five months matter. Here is what to do now:
1. Audit your current netting stock. Check whether existing inventory meets BS 5867-2 Type B, JIS L 1091 Category 3, or NFPA 701 Test Method 2. If not, identify replacement products and lock in supply before the March 2027 rush.
2. Verify manufacturer documentation. Ask your netting supplier for test reports under one of the three recognized standards. Do not accept generic "fire-resistant" claims. MOM will expect specific standard references.
3. Plan for March 2028 certification. Even if your netting meets the 2027 specification requirement, you will need SAC-accredited third-party certification one year later. Start conversations with certification bodies now. Queue times lengthen when entire industries move at once.
4. Re-evaluate scaffold type for programmes over three months. If your project schedule exceeds three months, the timber-scaffold limit makes steel or aluminum modular systems more cost-competitive. Request quotes for ring-lock, cup-lock, frame scaffolding, or H-frame shoring and compare total lifecycle costs-including erection, dismantling, and reuse across phases.
5. Update contract terms. Ensure your subcontracts and supply agreements place compliance responsibility on the party best placed to manage it-typically the scaffold contractor or material supplier. MOM has made clear that manufacturers, suppliers, scaffold contractors, and workplace occupiers all share liability. Spell out who holds the test reports and who covers costs if netting fails inspection.
The Bigger Picture
Singapore's scaffold-fire-safety package is a regulatory response to a specific tragedy. But it also signals a broader shift: Southeast Asian construction markets are moving from prescriptive rules toward performance-based safety standards. The old approach-specify timber or bamboo because it has always been done that way-is giving way to a risk-based approach that asks, "What burns, and how fast?"
For suppliers, this is an opportunity. Contractors who need to comply by March 2027 will be looking for scaffold systems and netting that arrive with the right certificates already in hand. The firms that can deliver tested, documented, certified products on time will win the switch-over contracts. The firms that wait for the circular to drop will be scrambling for lab slots and shipping space in the final weeks.
The fire at Wang Fuk Court started with a spark no one saw coming. Singapore's new rules aim to make sure that when the next spark comes, the scaffolding does not help it spread. For procurement teams, the task is simpler than it sounds: choose non-combustible structures, specify certified fire-retardant netting, and get the paperwork in order before the deadline.
Flourish Industrial supplies galvanized steel and aluminum system scaffolding-including ring-lock, cup-lock, and frame systems-for projects across Southeast Asia. Browse our full climbing scaffolding range or contact us for project-specific quotations and compliance documentation.