NFI employee set the Kimberly Clark warehouse on fire in Ontario, California

An employee of a third-party distributor of the Kimberly-Clark paper goods warehouse in Ontario was arrested on multiple felony arson charges in connection with a massive 6-alarm fire that engulfed the 1.2 million square-foot building on Tuesday morning.

Ontario Fire Department crews said they responded to the fire around 12:30 a.m. after receiving reports of smoke and flames at the warehouse. First-arriving units reported heavy smoke coming from the roof and heavy fire conditions.



Crews began a defensive fire attack and immediately requested additional resources to the 9500 block of Merrill Avenue.

Despite having the fire under control, Ontario crews said they would remain on scene overnight to continue mopping up any hotspots.

Aerial footage showed clouds of black smoke covering the nearby area and ash flying in the air. Fire officials urged children and seniors near the fire to remain indoors due to the poor air quality. Video from the scene hours after the fire first erupted showed ash fluttering through the air and burned paper in the yards of homes across the street from the warehouse.

Authorities said the 1.2 million square-foot warehouse was a Kimberly-Clark distribution center that contained paper goods, which contributed to the intensity of the blaze.

Cal Fire officials said that despite the sprinklers being active when the fire erupted, the flames were located throughout the warehouse and they realized that the blaze was likely not an accident.





Kimberly-Clark is a well-known company that manufactures paper-based brands like Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott. The company is headquartered in Irving, TX, but operates globally.

About 20 people were evacuated from the building, firefighters said, one of whom appeared to be missing until he was taken into custody for possible arson.

During a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Ontario PD Corporal Emily Williams identified the suspect as 29-year-old Highland resident Chamel Abdulkarim. She said that despite the initial belief that he was an employee of Kimberly-Clark, it was later revealed that he is an employee of NFI Industries, a third-party distributor that works with the paper manufacturer.

Williams said that they were able to identify Abdulkarim as the suspect due to several calls they received at the time that allowed them to determine that the blaze was suspicious in nature.

Williams said that Abdulkarim was arrested on multiple felony arson-related charges and was being held at West Valley Detention Center without bail. She said that reviewing video surveillance and witness accounts would be a part of their investigation moving forward.

Arson suspect in California Kimberly-Clark warehouse fire works for third-party distributor, officials say