A distressing video circulating on social media appears to show someone believed to be the Ontario warehouse fire suspect setting the California facility ablaze on Tuesday (US time). As heard in the clip, the man behind the camera seems to be a disgruntled employee complaining about meagre wages.

“There goes your inventory,” the man is heard saying in the video he reportedly filmed while destroying the contents of the 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse in the United States. “All you had to do was pay us enough to live,” he repeatedly says while filming the video himself.

Posted on Instagram, the video is believed to have been filmed by 29-year-old Chamel A Abdulkarim, a spokeswoman for the Ontario Police Department told the Daily Bulletin in an emailed statement. The Highland resident has been held at the West Valley Detention Centre in Rancho Cucamonga.

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Ontario warehouse fire: Alleged employee video surfaces online

According to the Los Angeles Times, Abdulkarim also shared several first-person videos on his non-public Facebook page. It showed a man, presumably Abdulkarim himself, lighting fires in a warehouse.

One of these clips has since circulated publicly on social media, amassing millions of views across platforms. While the video doesn’t show the face of the man behind the camera, it shows him holding what appears to be a lighter and a cigarette. “You know, we may not get paid enough to … live, but these … are dirt cheap.”

Elsewhere, he says, “You know, if you’re not going to pay us enough … to afford to live, at least pay us enough not to do this,” while lighting a roll of toilet paper on fire, according to The Los Angeles Times. Another reported video showed the person continuing to set merchandise on fire inside the warehouse as radios in the background sounded off fire reports.

What do we know about the California warehouse arson suspect?

CBS News further reported that Chamel Abdulkarim, arrested on multiple felony-related charges for the massive fire in California, has been identified as the 29-year-old employee of NFI Industries. They operate the Ontario warehouse site as a distribution centre for Kimberly-Clark.

Forklift driver Alejandro Montero is said to have spoken with the arson suspect minutes before the fire broke out around 12:30 am, according to both the LA Times and CBS News.

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“I just met him that night. He was helping me load my trailer,” Montero said. “I was working together with him right there for two hours before break and then right at break… I went to my car, and that’s when it happened.”  

According to Montero’s account, Abdulkarim couldn’t be found during a head count taken once employees evacuated.

Although NFI’s job website doesn’t list salaries for open positions, Glassdoor.com lists pay for forklift operators at $39,000-$49,000 annually and $58,000-$85,000 annually for truck drivers.

“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 added. “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.”

What did the officials say?

Ontario Fire Deputy Chief Mike Wedell said that more than 140 personnel were involved in extinguishing the fire at the warehouse. Riverside County, Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County Fire Departments worked together alongside Riverside City, Rancho Cucamonga, Chino Valley, Corona, Montclair, Colton, Rialto, San Manuel and Los Angeles fire departments.

Kimberly-Clark also issued a statement on Wednesday, saying that its supply chain network “is designed for continuity during disruptions and mitigating actions are already in motion.” This means that the warehouse fire won’t result in a toilet paper or diaper shortage or any kind of supply disruption.

Abdulkarim was expected to make his initial court appearance on Thursday (US time).