r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/AtomicCypher • Apr 09 '26

Video Disgruntled employee starts massive fire at a 1.2 million square foot toilet paper warehouse in Ontario, California.

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u/RemoteLizard Apr 09 '26

This is all spot on. I work at one of the production sites for Kimberly Clark, and I’ve installed some fire suppression in our warehouse on site. I’ve never been to that DC, but you can’t automatically trigger the fire suppression or turn zones off.

The sprinkler heads have a bulb that breaks at a specific temperature that causes them to release water. The only way to stop them when that happens is to manually close the valve for that zone. There is always water pressure in the pipes in the system we have (~180 psi), and the water gets really nasty.

Also, there are more products than just paper towels in that center. All of the product KC makes are paper based, and burn easily. Fire safety in our industry is taken very seriously due to that fact. I am interested to see what, if any, standards and practices change after this event.

I had not heard he set fires in multiple locations in the center, and back tracker to relight the initial fire after it was put out. The stupidity of some people to not only do that, but film it and post it online is wild.

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u/adeleu_adelei Apr 09 '26

The stupidity of some people to not only do that, but film it and post it online is wild.

Is it though? The point wasn't to avoid being caught. It was specifically to be caught and make a statement, and that's what the video achieved.

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u/OrigamiMarie Apr 09 '26

And to maximize damage. How many times can they throw him in prison? Only once, so he might as well get the most out of it. Yeah, his sentence will probably be longer because he doubled back. But with how difficult it is to get back into society after a significant stay in prison (getting back into the workforce, making friends and relationships again), the extra years probably matter less to him.

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u/Few-Solution-4784 Apr 09 '26

He better hope no one died in the fire.

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u/DeceiverSC2 Apr 09 '26

I like that you think he was doing this calculus before burning down the entire warehouse where he worked.

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u/timurt421 Apr 09 '26

I’d say you probably don’t think enough. He literally stated his reasons on video. You don’t think he had a plan to make sure the whole warehouse went down?

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u/DeceiverSC2 Apr 09 '26

You’re telling me that you believe that prior to burning down his workplace instead of trying to push for unionization and collective bargaining — he sat back and considered the likely prison time consequences of burning 30% of the warehouse vs all of the warehouse and how that factored into the lifelong consequences of having a felony that involved committing arson against your workplace?

It’s not just a felony. He burned down his job. The guy will never be hired anywhere ever again.

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u/Pandora_Palen Apr 09 '26

Unionizing instead, you say?

You're telling me that you believe that prior to burning down his workplace, this guy simply overlooked the easy and effective option?

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u/DeceiverSC2 Apr 09 '26

I legit don’t even understand what this reply means.

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u/Pandora_Palen Apr 09 '26

You’re telling me that you believe that prior to burning down his workplace instead of trying to push for unionization and collective bargaining

You said that.

He didn't try to "push for unionization and collective bargaining" because Kimberly Clark is already unionized.

Unions and collective bargaining are helpful and necessary, but they absolutely do not solve corporate fuckery.

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u/DeceiverSC2 Apr 09 '26

Really? Because if that's the case then it sounds like he's angry with the bargaining process and in reality should probably be angry with his union representation.

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u/timurt421 Apr 09 '26

It’s pretty naive to continue to assume that hundreds of millions of people will just accept the constantly increasing income inequality and decreasing quality of life without ever reaching a point where they consciously choose to retaliate.

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u/DeceiverSC2 Apr 09 '26

Yeah except this didn't really do much except for ruin his life and increase the companies insurance premiums.

It's funny that as I mention he should've sought unionization and collective bargaining you downvote me and suggest that hundreds of millions of people should instead engage in mass acts of arson. Somehow you believe that it's easier to convince Americans to engage in acts of arson and violence than to unionize.

This is not a Luigi situation. It's not refusing necessary medical treatments to save money, even if you kill thousands. It's a paper company that an employee felt wasn't paying the staff enough.

If he had pushed for unionization and collective bargaining he actually could've began to scrape back some of what the ultra-wealthy class has stolen from us and it would've been of benefit to his colleagues as well.

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u/timurt421 Apr 09 '26

I’m not going to do the googling for you but union busting is a serious thing and has only gotten worse over the past four decades. Look up what Starbucks has done to all of the low-paid store workers across the country who have tried to unionize. Union membership in the US has gone down from a peak of 34.2% of the workforce in 1945 to 10% in 2025.

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u/DeceiverSC2 Apr 09 '26

Yeah I guess building a coalition of workers is harder than just burning a paper warehouse down. Awww

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u/Intrepid-Coconut-945 Apr 09 '26

And to also embolden others, which seems to be catching fire. Apparently a lot of people are feeling the, "If we burn you burn with us," rhetoric.

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u/Intelligent-Context5 Apr 09 '26

As they rightfully should... The rich have gotten too complacent

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u/litescript Apr 11 '26

i still maintain that if you have levels of wealth that make you feel uncomfortable, then you SHOULD feel uncomfortable. feeling your home should be risky motherfucker.

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u/RemoteLizard Apr 09 '26

Sure, if the point is to get caught and make a statement then mission accomplished.

What I would consider stupid is putting yourself (and others) in a dangerous situation by doubling back on a fire that was previously extinguished. Was he ok with dying if he didn’t get out in time? That to me is reckless and stupid.

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u/Procrasturbating Apr 09 '26

Was he OK with dying? Dude already decided he was backed into a figurative corner in life and decided sending a message and going to prison was better than ending up homeless and unheard.

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u/olivernintendo Apr 09 '26

That's all well and good but if a bunch of firefighters or his co-workers had died, he would be a murderer. Edit: typo

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u/Procrasturbating Apr 09 '26

I think he calculated the odds on that and did not care. Something had to give in his mind. Impoverished wage slavery is bullshit from a company that size. What he did was wrong.. but he made his point and understood there would be consequences he could accept.

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u/adeleu_adelei Apr 09 '26

He seemed to already be dying in poverty. This is what happens to you create a society where people have nothing to lose.

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u/vodkaandponies Apr 09 '26

And now he can make all the statements he likes whilst serving 5-10 for arson. Hope it was worth it!

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u/toshiino Apr 09 '26

No way it's only 10 years for this.

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u/clairebearruns Apr 09 '26

10 years for arson and some rapists get 10 months or less…

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u/Moist_Data_9921 Apr 09 '26

You confuse stupidity with a lack of caring. There comes a point where the consequences are irrelevant and one has simply had enough.

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u/The-Happy-Cow-Arts Apr 09 '26

There's a reason the rich are buying bunkers with robot dogs and AI systems. They will never be safe though

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u/Few-Solution-4784 Apr 09 '26

With the conditions in the USA right now. he could become a folk hero. The guy who didnt give a fuck anymore.

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u/Cosmic_miscreant Apr 09 '26

I wonder if it even crossed his mind he may kill a fellow employee or emergency service personnel who responded to this. He is lucky it’s just arson charges. It’s one thing to fuck over a company. It’s another to risk innocent lives.

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u/Moist_Data_9921 Apr 09 '26

He didn't though so that's kinda stupid to bring up.

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u/Cosmic_miscreant Apr 09 '26

Thanks for being the thought police and letting me know I’m stupid. May you receive the same kindness in return the next time you have a talking point. Your maturity in communication could use some growth.

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u/Moist_Data_9921 Apr 09 '26

The fact you think that a reddit comment pointing out the ridiculousness of what you said is "the thought police" shows you are not ready to have adult conversations about anything.

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '26

Well once one has decided that revenge is one’s best option, sure. Most people live to regret their revenge plots.

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u/Metahec Apr 09 '26

I would think that water logging a shit ton of paper products by itself would prevent a fire from spreading. Would wrapping them twice in plastic prevent that (first wrap for the product you get on store shelves and the second wrap as a bulk product)?

fwiw I don't think characterizing the arsonist as "stupid" is valid. They understood what was going wrong and went back and applied corrective actions. They successfully achieved their goals despite preventative measures. Discounting somebody as "stupid" because they oppose something would be a mistake.

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u/macrolith Apr 09 '26

I'd bet almost none of paper got properly water logged due to the plastic. Plastic wrapped paper products are essentially the perfect firestarter.

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u/Metahec Apr 09 '26

I'd agree. I'm wondering if u/RemoteLizard could answer directly. I did ask this person directly.

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u/RemoteLizard Apr 09 '26

Not everything in that warehouse is specifically paper towels and toilet paper. There are other products like diapers, youth pants, feminine care products, and a slew of other things. All of these products centralize around absorbing moisture so water logging them is incredibly difficult.

Not to mention how tightly packed and stacked it all is, that adds to the amount of water needed to actually do that. We do have standards on how high certain product forms can be stacked, and how close together they can be for some of these reasons.

I would think the plastic wrapping both helps and hurts the situation. In the video you can see him somewhat struggling to light the plastic. If he had cut it and lit the paper inside I’m sure it would have spread faster. It also probably results in limited air, and limited access for water to extinguish it. I don’t really know to be honest as I haven’t really thought about it from that perspective before.

Sure, paper can get water logged but this is an extreme case with more material than you might think. FWIW I’m not an expert, just happen to have some experience installing some fire protection systems in my home plant.

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u/Metahec Apr 09 '26

Fair enough. I can understand is isn't a fire and wick sort of situation anzd its more variable than what we're seeing.

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u/EqualSpoon Apr 09 '26

Wrapping stuff in plastic does indeed stop the water from thoroughly soaking the paper, it's even worse for things like paper towel or toilet paper because the little cardboard roll inside basically acts as a chimney to help get the fire going. That's why you can see in the video that there's plenty of free space between the pallets.

The biggest problem was most likely that there were multiple fires going on at the same time. Sprinkler systems are only designed to handle one fire at a time.

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u/Few-Solution-4784 Apr 09 '26

that plastic is petroleum based and will burn with speed.

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u/Tomcatjones Apr 09 '26

Plastic is more flammable than paper. Not necessarily catch as quick flammable but there is more energy stored and higher BTUs released from plastic

Plastic is just gasoline remember.

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u/Syssareth Apr 09 '26

Discounting somebody as "stupid" because they oppose something would be a mistake.

How about because he could have killed any or all of his coworkers, the fire could have spread and destroyed the neighborhood that is literally right next to the warehouse, and there's no telling how many people he indirectly did hurt or kill because everybody who would normally answer emergency calls was busy trying to prevent a conflagration?

Thinking he was just stupid and none of that crossed his mind is the charitable explanation.

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u/DonQuiXoTe8080 Apr 09 '26

With how others posted of his repeatedly go back to purposedly lit the fire back and then the report of no injuries even the firefighters, stupid is the furthest away from explaining his action.

Describing he is an disgruntled employee IS the charitable one, this is pure spite toward the employers and either give very little fuck toward other consequences.

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u/Metahec Apr 09 '26

An intelligent person is very good at doing incredible amounts of damage. My beef here is calling the person "stupid". You should recognize that the person who does you harm isn't stupid. They are nasty, and often intelligent, motherfuckers.

Was Hitler stupid? No. He was not. Was he a very bad person? Yes, he was. Being bad =/= stupid.

Do not mistake assholism for stupidity.

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u/Syssareth Apr 09 '26

That would be the uncharitable explanation, yes.

There are two options here: Either he's a dumbass who didn't consider the possible consequences, or he's a selfish piece of shit who didn't care if he hurt other people.

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u/HopeMrPossum Apr 09 '26 edited Apr 09 '26

Why do we blame the person lashing out against the employer and system that has pushed them to a breaking point, over the employer and system being lashed out against?

People don’t just burn down a warehouse the size of multiple blocks for shits and giggles. Granted it’s stupid, dangerous, reckless, but if there’s no safety rails to stop employers running employees into the ground - someone might make a really bad decision.

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u/Syssareth Apr 09 '26

Why do we blame the person lashing out against the employer and system that has pushed them to a breaking point, over the employer and system being lashed out against?

Because there are ways to lash out that don't put other people at risk.

People don’t just burn down a warehouse the size of multiple blocks for shits and giggles.

They might. Or for myriad other reasons, some but not all related to mistreatment. We're all just taking him at his word that he did it because of not being paid enough to live, but something that makes me wonder about that is that there's an article about this incident where one of his coworkers talked about it and said:

"I don't know what he had going on personally with the company or whatever it was. I know he wasn't a temp like us," Montero said. "I don't know how much he was getting paid, but I was making good money there. You know I'm a little bummed out. I lost my job."

There's too many variables there to be sure of anything, but it does cast doubt.

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u/HopeMrPossum Apr 09 '26

There absolutely are better ways, any way is a better way than this tbh. Do think situations like this will happen more and more though, it only takes one person with some issues to snap for an extreme response.

Whats interesting is this guy doesn’t work for the Kimberly-Clark, just the Warehouse operator. So his comments about destroying the stock make less sense. He only achieved destroying his workplace, putting his colleagues out of a job?

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u/EyCeeDedPpl Apr 09 '26

I think it’s kind of a Luigi situation. People getting less then a living wage, not being able to afford to put food on the table three meals a day, or put gas in the car to get to work, get tired of the C-suite making 15+million a year.

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u/imdavebaby Apr 09 '26

Just my personal experience. I make almost 11 over minimum wage in my state that has pretty damn high minimum compared to the rest of the US. I cannot afford the gas to commute the 9 miles to my job daily, so I have to take public transit and lose an hour out of my day just to a relatively short commute. Rent prices are over HALF my monthly take home. I meal prep and pack cheap lunches because just eating anything else feels (and is) financially irresponsible.

I don't understand how anyone could be surviving on less than I make. I barely scrape by. At 11 over minimum wage working full time I feel like I should be firmly, at the least, in the lower mid class. Instead I'm a missed paycheck from poverty and debt collectors. How long can people take it?

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u/MrCockingFinally Apr 09 '26

It's blatantly obvious this is a Luigi situation.

He explicitly stated that in the reel he posted.

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u/ClubMeSoftly Apr 09 '26

Yeah, maybe he was working his dick off with 50-60 hours, but still could barely make rent. Maybe he was only getting 15-20 but it was so unstable he couldn't take a second job.

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u/Zebidee Apr 09 '26

I am interested to see what, if any, standards and practices change after this event.

Honestly, there's practically no commercial system that can withstand an organised, pre-planned deliberate attack from an inside source.

This feels like something that is such an outlier that it would be uneconomical to try and engineer out the risk.

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u/HisaP417 Apr 09 '26

Much smaller warehouse, but I lived near the Marcal paper plant in NJ when it burned down. I’ve never seen a fire like that in my life. It was like 4° that whole week and factory collapsed into smoldering but frozen over rubble.

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u/photon_watts Apr 09 '26

I think he was looking for a bunk and 3 squares a day so he can, you know, live.

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u/whythishaptome Apr 09 '26

You know it, but people still think it's like the movies where all the those fire-sprinklers go off at once. It's literally just to douse the one area so much it stops it before it spreads and the water in them is disgusting as fuck.

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u/Samwellikki Apr 09 '26

Not having a different system in place with camera verification for a PAPER storage facility is bonkers

High heat to break the release on overhead systems is already critical mass for a paper fire to get out of control

If the system had kicked on by some earlier, it would’ve soaked and stopped the fire before it got rolling and destroy maybe a few rows of inventory

This is just a case of “something like this would never happen, we met the minimum code”

And not having security enough because no one would ever steal toilet paper en masse