Employee accused of arson after paper goods warehouse destroyed in massive fire in Ontario

Key Points:

• A massive fire destroyed the Kimberly-Clark Distribution Center warehouse in Ontario, California, prompting a response from 175 firefighters and 20 engines; the blaze started shortly after 12:30 a.m. and burned for nearly 12 hours.
• The 1.2 million square-foot warehouse, filled with paper products like Kleenex and Huggies diapers, was heavily damaged, with several big rigs destroyed and the fire suppression system compromised by a roof collapse.
• A 29-year-old warehouse employee, Chamel Abdulkarim, who works for NFI Industries (a third-party distributor for Kimberly-Clark), was arrested on multiple felony arson charges; the fire was quickly deemed suspicious with possible multiple points of origin.
• No injuries were reported, though about 20 employees were inside at the time, and the fire has left workers jobless; the community was advised to stay indoors due to poor air quality from the smoke plume.
• Firefighters contained the blaze to the warehouse, protecting nearby businesses, and by Tuesday afternoon, the fire was under control with crews beginning mop-up operations.