# Ontario, California warehouse torched by employee who filmed himself doing it (4/2026) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 9, 2026, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ontario-california-warehouse-torched-by-employee-who-filmed-himself-doing-it-4-2026/1029137 "2026-04-09T04:49:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ontario-california-warehouse-torched-by-employee-who-filmed-himself-doing-it-4-2026/1029137/41 "2026-04-13T22:25:13Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But burning down occasional warehouses doesn’t terrorize fully insured managements. Look, I’m not a fan of the action he took. But this statement is extremely naive. Insurance isn’t some magic thing that just pays for everything and allows management and owners to not care. Their insurance premiums will jump massively, and they’ll probably be forced by their insurers to add more controls from fire suppression to employee screening. The third-party operator will find themselves without contracts if the warehouses they manage seem to burn down frequently. There are plenty of reasons to criticize the approach. But arguing it does absolutely nothing is not a good reason. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ontario-california-warehouse-torched-by-employee-who-filmed-himself-doing-it-4-2026/1029137/42 "2026-04-13T22:35:50Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The loopholes abound, don’t they? Well, the BrightSide is he ain’t gonna have to worry about the cost of housing and food for the forseeable future most likely. But I’d wager that $18 an hour job ain’t gonna seem too bad after a few months as a guest of the State of California. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ontario-california-warehouse-torched-by-employee-who-filmed-himself-doing-it-4-2026/1029137/43 "2026-04-13T22:48:01Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > and they’ll probably be forced by their insurers to add more controls from fire suppression to employee screening. Which hardship will also fall primarily on the workers, not on the fatcats. Insurance doesn’t reduce the impact on the fatcats to nothing. But this is still having a lot less effect than Mangione’s shooting. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ontario-california-warehouse-torched-by-employee-who-filmed-himself-doing-it-4-2026/1029137/44 "2026-04-13T22:49:34Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > One theory I’ve seen states that Labor Unions help mitigate this kind of thing, and thus are useful not only to the workers (who get their bargaining position improved) but to the employer (who is not killed and buried in the ruins of his factory/warehouse) Also related: efficiency wage theory. Employers pay more than the market clearing wage to discourage shirking, up to and including arson. > **[Efficiency wage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficiency_wage)** > > Empirical methods > Prescriptive and policy > In labor economics, an efficiency wage is a wage paid in excess of the market-clearing wage to increase the labor productivity of workers. Specifically, it points to the incentive for managers to pay their employees more than the market-clearing wage to increase their productivity or to reduce the costs associated with employee turnover. > Theories of efficiency wages explain the existence of involuntary unemployment in economies outside of recessions, p... ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ontario-california-warehouse-torched-by-employee-who-filmed-himself-doing-it-4-2026/1029137/45 "2026-04-14T00:38:55Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Look, I’m not a fan of the action he took. But this statement is extremely naive. Insurance isn’t some magic thing that just pays for everything and allows management and owners to not care. Their insurance premiums will jump massively, and they’ll probably be forced by their insurers to add more controls from fire suppression to employee screening. The third-party operator will find themselves without contracts if the warehouses they manage seem to burn down frequently. … AND … they (K-C) will most likely be inclined to opt for rebuilding a warehousing solution that minimizes walking-meat in the isles …b/c of past experiences. so, the new warehouse will prob. need 300 fewer workers to function to the same or higher standards than before… well done, burning down the current and future jobs of many local folks ! ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ontario-california-warehouse-torched-by-employee-who-filmed-himself-doing-it-4-2026/1029137/46 "2026-04-14T03:25:53Z")
Do you think there was no move to automation before, but this incident will cause it? Come on. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ontario-california-warehouse-torched-by-employee-who-filmed-himself-doing-it-4-2026/1029137/47 "2026-04-14T04:53:31Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > If you really wanna change the world, form a union [Yeah, right](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_union_busting_in_the_United_States). When the oligarchs aren’t busting heads directly, they’re busy subverting union leadership. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ontario-california-warehouse-torched-by-employee-who-filmed-himself-doing-it-4-2026/1029137/48 "2026-04-14T11:10:24Z")
Moderating: > [@DigitalC](#): > > > [@Al128](#): > > > > does anybody really believe this will address any underlying issues? > > Not just once, and frankly it would definitely be better to kill CEO’s and billionaires, but i’ll take what I can get. It ends when there are no billionaires left. Apparently there’s been a rash of warehouse fires since this happened, not sure if its the normal amount but nobody is reporting a connection. From the TOS: **Wishing harm on others.** Do not state or imply that any individual or group is deserving of harm. We recognize this rule cannot be strictly applied in discussions of war, capital punishment and the like but urge users to express themselves in moderate terms nonetheless. And **Illegal activity.** Do not post material that in our opinion encourages or facilitates activity that is illegal in the U.S. Discussion of whether an activity should or should not be illegal is permissible. We encourage people to abide by local U.S. law, which varies by jurisdiction. Please do not post suggestions or advice on how to evade local U.S. law. We do not expect rigorous compliance with laws in other countries, especially censorship laws in authoritarian states. Nonetheless, please consult with SDMB staff before posting advice on such laws. Your post encouraged illegal activity, states that a group (CEO’s and billionaires) deserves harm. No warning this time, but please tone it down. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ontario-california-warehouse-torched-by-employee-who-filmed-himself-doing-it-4-2026/1029137/49 "2026-04-14T11:21:44Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Do you think there was no move to automation before, but this incident will cause it? Come on. you need the BUSINESS CASE (your “move”) **and** FUNDING … they probably had the former but not the latter … now - after an insurance payout they have both … . I do work HR adjacent, and one of my difuse meta-fears (mid-term) is that the HUMAN part in HR starts to become more-and-more complex, - (conflicts (the whole gamut from passive-aggressive to arson), - mobbying, - volatile staffing/staffing problems, - the whole DEI thingy, EEO, - substance abuse, - pandemics and whatnot) that companies look for other (non human) RESOURCES … which for the longest time were not available or financially viable … … but with AI / robotics /4th revolution ad portas that might change dramatically - especially for highly repetitive tasks like you might find in a warehouse. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ontario-california-warehouse-torched-by-employee-who-filmed-himself-doing-it-4-2026/1029137/50 "2026-04-14T19:29:19Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > If you really wanna change the world, form a union … does anybody really believe this will address any underlying issues? He didn’t work _for_ Kimberly-Clark, he worked for a vendor _at_ K-C. If there was a union there, he’d most likely be out of a job because unions don’t want non-union guys working with them. > [@TroutMan](#): > > Do you think there was no move to automation before, but this incident will cause it? It’s a lot easier to do when you’re starting from scratch with a brand new building instead of trying to incorporate into an existing, working building. Besides, by the time the dust settles & they get an insurance payout, architect a new building, get the plans approved by the municipality, & then get it built you’re probably talking two years. All of the existing warehouse workers will have moved on & have other jobs/retired/moved/died. Automation will save them the HR headache of hiring a ton of people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ontario-california-warehouse-torched-by-employee-who-filmed-himself-doing-it-4-2026/1029137.md?page=2)