Footage said to show the suspected arsonist behind a major warehouse blaze in Ontario has surfaced online, and an employee was reportedly detained not long after it was recorded.
The fire broke out shortly after 12:30am on Tuesday, April 8, at a 1.2 million-square-foot Kimberly-Clark inventory facility.
In a joint statement from the Ontario Fire Department and the Ontario Police Department, officials said around 175 firefighters and 15 truck companies responded and battled the flames through the night.
IB Times reports that agencies including San Bernardino County resources assisted at the scene, but the building sustained significant structural damage as paper stock caught and fed the fire.
The same report said the warehouse was valued at $156 million and held hygiene goods, including toilet paper.
Attention then shifted to allegations involving pay and working conditions after 29-year-old Chamel Abdulkarim—identified as an employee of NFI Industries, a third-party distributor handling Kimberly-Clark products such as Huggies, Kleenex and Scott—was arrested near the area.
A video alleged to have been uploaded to Facebook by an account bearing Abdulkarim’s name appears to show someone igniting pallets of toilet paper while making a statement about wages.
“All you had to do was pay us enough to live.”
The clip, which has circulated online including on forums like Reddit, shows flames spreading rapidly after items are lit with what looks like a lighter, while the person filming suggests the warehouse “inventory” is being destroyed.
Investigators are urging anyone who may have information to contact Detective Ryan Ronveaux at (909) 408-1748.
According to People, Abdulkarim faces multiple arson-related charges and is being held without bail at the West Valley Detention Center.
“We have had reports that he did give some information on social media,” Ontario Police Dept. Cpl. Emily Williams told KTLA. “We can’t go into specifics as to what that information is.”
The suspect is scheduled to appear in court today (Thursday).
Alex Montero, who said he encountered Abdulkarim at the warehouse the night the fire started, told reporters he was able to capture the footage after it appeared online through a mutual friend.
“It was him that posted himself doing it,” Montero told the LA Times. “If not, I wouldn’t have put it out there like that.”
In the video, the man believed to be Abdulkarim can also be heard warning about pay, before the footage shows paper products being set alight.
“You know, if you’re not going to pay us enough … to afford to live, at least pay us enough not to do this.”