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A federal judge has sentenced a Joliet man to six years behind bars for a 2016 fire that destroyed a furniture warehouse where he worked, causing more than $122 million in damages.
The Chicago Tribune reports that 22-year-old Ruben Antonio Ochoa Cruz was angry at his boss after a dispute over vacation time when he set a piece of paper on fire and tossed it into shelfing at the RoomPlace warehouse. The fire spread, eventually burning down the 325,000-square-foot structure in Woodridge.
Cruz apologized through a Spanish interpreter before the judge imposed the sentence Tuesday. The Joliet resident said the fire "was not a mistake" he "intended to make."
Prosecutors said the fire risked the lives of more than 65 people and that it was miraculous everyone survived.
About 35 area fire agencies responded to the fire April 21, 2016, at 2501 Internationale Parkway, according to a news release from the Lemont Fire Protection District.
Lemont Fire Chief George Rimbo said the exact amount of damage was not known, but the cost was estimated to be between $40 million and $60 million.
According to the RoomPlace's website, the Woodridge warehouse was the main distribution center for its 24 showrooms in Illinois and Indiana.
•Shaw Media staff contributed to this report