In Summary:
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Several online blogs posted a video claiming that the LEC substation in Paynesville was gutted by fire
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We fact-checked this claim by verifying the video using several online tools, and reviewing LEC’s statement
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We found that the claim is misleading
On February 17, a blog identified as Yekeh Kolubah posted a video claiming that equipment at the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) substation in Paynesville had been gutted by fire.
In the video, a section believed to be part of an electricity facility appears engulfed in large flames, prompting mixed reactions and concern among social media users.
The video is going viral. Before the publication of the report , the post had generated over 1.2k diverse reactions, 297 comments, and 148 shares.
The Claim
Portion of Yekeh Kolubah and other online blog post: “LEC current blasted at LEC substation and catching fire on LEC equipment. In other words, la [that’s] LEC burning LEC.”
Rating Justification
To verify the claim, our fact checker visited the substation in Paynesville. The team observed no evidence of a fire incident or damage consistent with a facility being gutted by flames as claimed in the social media post shared with the video.
Further verification using several online tools shows that the video circulating is not from Liberia. It’s an incident that happened on January 8, 2025, in the United States at a power substation off Hanrietta Creek Road in North Fort Worth as reported by BFWScanner on X.
This was also reported by CBS News that an Oncor substation near Seventeen Lakes Boulevard and Henrietta Creek Road was gutted by fire, further confirming that the video of the fire incident being posted by blogs in Liberia did not occur in part of the country.
To verify the claim, we also reviewed an official press statement issued by the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC).
In its release, the corporation clarified that the incident was an electrical arcing flash caused by an overload, not a fire outbreak that destroyed equipment.
Conclusion
Based on these findings, we conclude that the video shared by Yekeh Kolubah and several blogs claiming that the LEC substation in Paynesville was gutted by fire is misleading. The video is not from any incident that occurred in Liberia. It’s an incident that happened on January 8, 2025, in the United States at a power substation off Hanrietta Creek Road in North Fort Worth.
