China's state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) organized illegal firework display that set fire to a new, vacant luxury hotel building the TV network built next to its headquarters. While public anger simmers over CCTV's spending and selective news coverage, some are questioning the quality of the plastic building products used in the tower.

"The fire started around the 30th floor and quickly gutted the entire building. If the builder had used flame-retardant plastic insulation boards, the blaze wouldn't have spread so fast," a B2B Web site commented. Others blame the plastic building products for generating huge amounts of toxic fumes that killed a firefighter and injured a handful of others.

After I posted the news in the Chinese-language version of the PN China Blog, a reader replied: "There's no industry standard or inspection system in place for plastic foam boards in China. Most plastic boards in the market used sub-par, recycled material. They either contain no flame-retardant additives what-so-ever, or use too little or low quality flame-retardant additives. ...The market is still focused on just the price point. We hope the authorities will establish and enforce standards. Don't leave fire hazards in homes and modern high-rises. ... This could become the 'melamine in construction materials.' (the reader was comparing the fire hazard to the melamine found in milk powder and baby formula products in China)"

Actually, China does have a "mandatory national standard for flame-retardant products in public buildings (GB20286)." But either there's no enforcement or people found loopholes. For example, the standard probably doesn't apply when the owner/builder opted for building materials without flame-retardant claims.

Last month, a bar fire caused by fireworks killed 15 and injured 22 in eastern China's Fujian province. Flammable decoration materials (plastic ceiling boards) caught fire and emitted heavy smoke and poisonous fumes, which knocked out the victims before they could escape.