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Apr 03, 2026

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

ONTARIO, Calif. (KABC) -- A warehouse employee was arrested on suspicion of arson after a massive fire destroyed the building in Ontario, prompting a large response from first responders overnight.

The fire started shortly after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday near Hellman and Merrill avenues, according to the Ontario Fire Department. In total, 175 firefighters and 20 engines were on scene battling the flames, which cast an orange glow in the area.

Massive fire tears through warehouse in Ontario

The firefight continued for several hours as the blaze continued to burn through the Kimberly-Clark Distribution Center, which is estimated to be 1.2 million square feet -- about the size of 11 city blocks. The flames and smoke were visible for miles.

Nearly twelve hours later, crews were still on scene shooting water at the building from ladder trucks. They were able to contain the flames to the warehouse, protecting nearby businesses.

The warehouse was filled with paper products from familiar brands like Kleenex to Huggies diapers, which further fueled the six-alarm fire.

Officials said the building has a fire suppression system, which was operating but was compromised when a portion of the roof collapsed. Several big rigs docked at the facility were also destroyed.

About 20 employees were inside the warehouse when the fire broke out. One person was initially missing, but was later accounted for. That missing person was the suspect, police said.

"This fire was very quickly identified as suspicious in nature," said Deputy Chief Mike Wedell. "There was a subject of interest identified very early on in the incident. That subject has been arrested."

The Ontario Police Department later identified the suspect as 29-year-old Chamel Abdulkarim from Highland. Authorities initially believed he was a Kimberly-Clark employee, but later clarified that he's actually an employee of NFI Industries, a third-party distributor for Kimberly-Clark.

Officials said it is not known at this time if Abdulkarim was actively on duty working when the fire began, but he was present at the warehouse.

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