VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Investigators believe an early morning fire at a business in Vancouver was sparked by an arsonist.

Vancouver Fire Dept/kgw.com

Firefighters took this photo while battling the blaze.

Clues seem to suggest that the fire started in a dumpster outside Studer’s Floor Covering on NE 18th and Andresen and then spread to the building. Much of the stock inside was destroyed by the water from sprinklers and heavy smoke.

Damage was estimated at around $250,000 and the showroom will have to be gutted.

 Slideshow: Photos of fire scene

Studer’s Floor Covering has been in Clark County more than 30 years. Now the 50 employees are worried about where they'll get their next paycheck.

“That was devastating to me, thinking about everyone else, their families and how they were going to get along,” worker Wayne Romine told KGW.

The business next door, Sherwin Williams, also sustained light smoke damage.

Anyone with information on the fire was urged to call police at 1-360- 448-7500.