Claim: A social media user claimed that the fire outbreak at Murg Plaza, Area 10 in Abuja, was caused by the solar panels erected on the building’s roof.
Verdict: False! The cause of the fire outbreak at Murg Plaza is unknown. The Solar panels on the roof of the affected building are unconnected to the fire outbreak.
Full Text
Around the globe, energy deficit and the reality of climate change are driving a shift towards alternative energy sources outside grid-borne electricity.
One of the leading energy substitutes is solar power, a renewable energy source harnessed through rooftop panels. In the last 11 years, solar energy capacity in Nigeria has increased by 146%. This growth signifies an increasing adoption and the potential for future expansion of solar energy projects within the country.
With the increasing use of solar energy in Nigeria, it is not uncommon to see solar panels erected on rooftops.
In April 2024, an X user posted a video showing a fire engulfing a section of a shopping complex in Area 10, Abuja.
The footage captured the fire consuming the solar panels erected on the building’s roof; hence, the poster suggested that the solar panels triggered the fire.
The caption on the post reads, “Even with solar panels, your building could still be in danger; please be extremely careful and mindful.”
While most comments expressed sympathy and concern for the victims of the burnt shops, there were also questions and exclamations about the claim that solar panels caused the fire.
Here are a few of the comments:
A user @tamiz00 commented, “So solar is the cause of that fire?”
Another user, @designemir7, wrote, “Wow! Used to think solar is different from electricity.”
As of the time of this report, the post has attracted 250 retweets, 119 comments, 539 likes, and 118 bookmarks.
Besides this specific X user, different individuals and bloggers across social media have reposted the video, as seen here and here.
The post’s virality, the ambiguity of the claim, and the potential controversy it could stir among solar energy users prompted DUBAWA to verify the accuracy of the video and its caption.
Verification
DUBAWA visited the location of the fire outbreak at Murg Plaza, Area 10, Abuja, to ascertain the cause of the fire and confirm if it is associated with the solar panels on the rooftops of the building, as portrayed by the viral video clip.
An interview with one of the people whose shop was affected by the fire confirmed that the specific cause of the fire was unknown.
The young man, Mr Victor said, “The shop where the fire broke out was locked when the fire started so nobody can point to what went wrong.”
Additionally, Mr Victor stated that the shop in question is not solar-powered. Hence, it is impossible that the solar panels could have caused the fire outbreak. He mentioned that the viral video was just misinformation and did not truly represent the reality of the incident.
An eyewitness, Ogaji Simon, mentioned in an interview with Galaxy TV News that the fire outbreak resulted from an air conditioner explosion.
He said, “An air conditioner had a wire contact with itself, and it exploded.”
This account again contradicts the purported claim that the fire was caused by the solar panels erected on the rooftop.
Can solar panels cause fire, as portrayed?
According to an online dictionary source, solar panels are collections of solar cells called photovoltaic, used to convert sunlight directly into electrical power.
Generally, renewable energy, like solar power, is a clean power source. It helps combat harmful greenhouse gas emissions and thus reduce global warming. Solar panels do not lead to any form of pollution and are clean.
Research shows that solar panels are not entirely immune from causing fire but pose a shallow fire hazard.
Additionally, potential fire outbreaks from solar panels are usually caused by poor installation and maintenance.
Also, an international repository for solar information stated that solar installations are only prone to fires if they are not installed or maintained correctly. The leading causes of fires in solar installations include poor installation, overheating, electrical faults, inadequate maintenance, and lightning.
An article by the UK Fire Protection Association reiterated that the risk of solar panel systems catching fire is low; they can still catch fire like any other technology that produces electricity.
Based on the above findings, the solar panels on the rooftop of the affected building at Murg Plaza are not connected to the fire outbreak.
Conclusion
According to eyewitness records, the cause of the fire outbreak at Murg Plaza, Area 10, Abuja, was unknown. Hence, the narrative that the solar panels on the building’s rooftop caused the fire is false.
This fact-check was produced as part of the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame KariKari Fellowship in partnership with Dataphyte to facilitate the ethos of “truth” in Journalism and enhance media and information literacy in the country.