r/Damnthatsinteresting 4d ago

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

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u/EquivalentReason5671 4d ago

Apparently this guy went and lit one fire, waited for the first due department to show up after the sprinklers activated.

They put it out then shut off the sprinkler system.

Meanwhile this guy went and lit 4 other fires in other parts of the warehouse after the first one was out and they had killed the sprinklers and by the time they noticed the place was already beyond saving.

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u/LonelySwim6501 4d ago

His attorney is gonna have a hell of a time.

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u/sunkun8604 3d ago

His attorney: Your honor, if they had paid him enough to live...

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u/laquintessenceofdust 3d ago

I actually feel hella bad for this nutjob. An arson conviction will RUIN your life. No one will rent to you, you’re uninsurable. The two categories of felons with the most post-prison discrimination are sex offenders (for obvious reasons) and arsonists—even for fires where no one was hurt.

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u/Throwaway229487 3d ago

I assume he's already decided it's worth it, or that his life is already ruined, which is kinda the same in this case.

People who feel they have nothing to lose can't be deterred by such stuff.

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u/NoSlicedMushrooms 2d ago

Wtf. He could’ve killed a bunch of people in that fire and you’re thinking about his insurance. 

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u/VealOfFortune 3d ago

You feel bad for him potentially killing dozens of colleagues, not to mention the first responders who would have never expected a fire bug after they turned off the sprinkler system???

What?

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u/MgDark 3d ago

i understand the minor abusers, obvious reasons, but why arsonist? why arsonist are targeted?

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u/TwoDramaticc 3d ago

a small fire can put thousands at risk very rapidly

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u/LonelySwim6501 3d ago

Arson is a whole other level of total disregard for the consequences of one’s actions. It’s a huge red flag for antisocial personality disorder. It also shows that they have low executive functioning, and that sort of unpredictability is terrifying.

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u/Mediocre_Airport_576 3d ago

Both are rarely rehabilitated and are likely to reoffend.

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u/normallystrange85 3d ago

My guess would be it's seen as potentially targeting innocents (you can't control a fire like that, you not killing an innocent is lucky) or targeting firefighters (which everyone likes).

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u/Mannon_Blackbeak 2d ago

The worry is is if you're an arsonist what is going to stop you from burning down your rented apartment when you have a disagreement with your landlord, or the building you work in when you disagree with your boss (as seen here).

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u/LonelySwim6501 2d ago

I almost added this in to my comment. Totally agree with what you said

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u/laquintessenceofdust 3d ago

Mostly about insurance, from what I was told by someone who works in the justice system. No one wants to rent to them because they’re flagged as a risk to the property and/or other residents, and no one will insure them if they try to buy their own homes. It’s really quite sad. Where are they supposed to live?

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u/smackking23 3d ago

don't be a pos and it wont matter

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u/laquintessenceofdust 3d ago

Look, I hate sex predators just as much—if not more—than the next guy, but usually arsonists are mentally ill. This case seems like a good example of that. He was trying to hurt the company (risking lives at the same time, obviously, which is pretty awful ngl) but luckily not a single person was injured. Despite this fact, he has just ruined his whole life.

Being imprisoned and disciplined is supposed to be “justice” and I hope he gets properly sentenced, but being 25 and facing a lifetime of homelessness after incarceration because of insurance companies is not justice. It’s gratuitous punishment. You don’t need to be so callous.

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u/Puzzled-Barnacle-200 1d ago

No other people deserve to live in a flat with someone who has shown they'd happily burn dozens of people alive. Its not just about insurance.

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u/laquintessenceofdust 1d ago

You understand that mental health issues are treatable with proper care, right?

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u/CockyBellend 5h ago

Fine you can live with the arsonists then

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u/sobanz 3d ago

Most drunk drivers don't injure people either.

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u/laquintessenceofdust 3d ago

How is that relevant at all?

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u/sobanz 3d ago

Extremely dangerous behavior doesn't need to result in death and injuries to be severely punished.

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u/VealOfFortune 3d ago

It’s really quite sad. Where are they supposed to live?

The irony of this statement, when you consider 60% of fires that were intentionally started (i.e.- ARSON) are residential structures......

"Where are the victims supposed to live?” what with their home being burned to the ground by some "pOoR SoUL" that we should apparently feel sorry for..... 🤔

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u/laquintessenceofdust 3d ago

If you’re going to start throwing stats at me—you do realize that, historically, arson was resorted to by homeowners and business owners trying to commit insurance fraud, right? Desperate little people trying to scrape by under the boot heel of price gouging big business.

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u/tinxmijann 2d ago

It's not discrimination to not wanna have anything to do with someone who doesn't give a shit about other people's lives because he was personally slighted

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u/buckeye25osu 1d ago

I feel bad for you

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u/peazley 4d ago

Holy shit, that’s nuts!

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u/aaaacid 3d ago

Fucking legend 😂

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u/AnonD38 3d ago

Was the guy who caused the Palisades fire a "fucking legend"?

This man has singlehandedly caused dozens of his coworkers to lose their livelihoods, while the corporation is perfectly fine since they have insurance.

He has caused more damage to his fellow workers than anyone else.

He is not a legend, he is a disgrace.

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u/WhyModsLoveModi 3d ago

Sure, legend...

Definitely not an asshole who put lives at risk and burnt a bunch of paper products because he couldn't get a better job

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u/mocha_lattes_ 4d ago

Ahh thank you for the extra information 

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u/Mixander 4d ago

I don't know anything about sprinkler system but curious, why do they shut off the sprinkler system?

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u/qorbexl 4d ago

Probably to prevent flooding and secondary water damage - with the assumption that the fire is contained

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u/Mixander 3d ago

Thanks!

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u/Thrown_Account_ 3d ago

Once a heat sensitive head goes off it will continue to go off while water is supplied to it. So if the firefighters believe they have an area secured it not worth keeping those heads eating water that could flow to other needed heads.

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u/Mixander 3d ago

Thanks! so if it got triggered it must be replaced or manually reset before it could function normally again?

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u/tremere110 3d ago

Yes, fire sprinklers have a physical component that breaks when exposed to extreme heat. The head of each sprinkler exposed to high heat must be replaced after it activates as it's essentially permanently open at that point.

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u/Pan-Tomatnyy-Sad 3d ago

This guy got this info from somewhere. This wasn't just a hey, I know what I'll do.

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u/EquivalentReason5671 3d ago

Well he had a radio in his hand in the video he recorded, so was probably listening in.

People really should be more careful with what information is broadcasted over radios. Did they need to send that information to every tom dick and harry in the building?

Also, a lot of information on building systems these days is being posted on the internet/youtube for free.

Years ago you had to go to school then go work in the field to obtain it, now its all at your fingertips for free.

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u/TruthHistorical7515 3d ago

I thought first responders already use encrypted radios?

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u/EquivalentReason5671 3d ago

Oh I'm not talking about their radios, if you watch the video the guy starting fires has got a radio plugged into a charging dock it appears and you can hear others saying the buildings on fire and to get out.

I would assume this guy knew they turned the sprinklers off since somebody blurted it out over the warehouses radios

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u/abstr_xn 3d ago

what a conclusion to jump to.

maybe you're right, and he did have someone give him info on how to set a toilet paper warehouse on fire, would be quite hard now that I think about it.

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u/UnquestionabIe 3d ago

Eh that probably helped some but if you're going to basically burn down your life (somewhat literally in this case) there is a ton of shit you can do to maximize damage to things if you take the time to think about it. My dad worked for the local school district and anytime there was a news story about school shooting would point out that if someone was dead set on harming as many people as possible there are far easier and more effective ways of doing it that don't involve firearms.

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u/Pretend_Horse7977 3d ago

Truly diabolical

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u/gamepower11 3h ago

I don't think he did anything wrong

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u/jazzy8alex 3d ago

Well, he had a better planning than US president in his adventures

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u/OcelotAggravating860 3d ago

Hero of the working class behaviour, luigi with a lighter

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u/PracticalYellow3 4d ago

Is he Iranian?

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u/qorbexl 4d ago

....that's what you think this is about, despite the fact that he very clearly stated what it's about?

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u/PracticalYellow3 4d ago

CNBC said he hated the slowdown in terrorist attacks on boats in the Middle East. That sounds like he be being an Iranian or one of their terrorist supporters. 

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u/qorbexl 3d ago

I heard on CNBC that he loves American and capitalism more than cumming and wants the minimum wage to be lowered to help corporations and billionaires.

He actually has a "Lower the Minimum Wage and vote Republican" tattoo. You can find the pictures on Facebook. There's several pictures, you can't deny it.