A fire that damaged a Truesdale business early Tuesday morning appears to have been intentionally set.Warrenton Fire Chief Mike Owenby said the preliminary investigation revealed the blaze started in the garage area of the structure housing Brockfeld’s Gunsmithing and Firearms at 727 E. Main Street.A garage and adjacent workshop were heavily damaged along with a truck that was parked inside. Firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading to the retail portion of the business. The eastern side of the building sustained mostly smoke damage, Owenby said.“What we do know is it was a set fire,” Owenby reported. “We got very good reason to believe the fire was set based on information we received.”Firefighters were dispatched to the business around 1:47 a.m. after a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper driving by the business observed smoke coming from the structure. Flames were shooting from the garage’s roof when the first firefighters arrived within minutes of being dispatched.Warrenton and Wright City firefighters were assisted by crews from Marthasville, Hawk Point, Wentzville and Lincoln County. Crews remained at the scene for more than six hours.The investigation is being handled by the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s office and the Truesdale Police Department. An agent representing the Bureau of Alcohol,  Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) also visited the site Monday, Owenby said.The fire chief encouraged anyone with information to call the arson hotline at 1-800-39-ARSON (1-800-392-7766). A $5,000 reward fund is in place for information leading to an arrest.This was the second blaze that was set in the early-morning hours Tuesday.About an hour earlier, Warrenton firefighters responded to storage units at the intersection of Pinckney and South streets in Truesdale, but a small fire was quickly extinguished. No damage was reported.Owenby told The Record both fires are connected.

A truck parked inside of a garage was destroyed in an early-morning blaze Monday, Jan. 4, in Truesdale.