LEWISTON — A camper parked off Strawberry Avenue went up in flames Monday night that investigators believe was caused by a shorted car battery.

Investigators said a homeless man had set the camper up in a lot near the railroad tracks, across from the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society, after the axle broke. When the man went out to get some supplies about 8:30 p.m., he came back to find his camper engulfed by fire.

Randy Bennett, the man who lived in the camper, was not hurt, Lewiston Fire Investigator Paul Ouellette said. But other than a few items that had been stowed in drawers, everything inside was lost to flames.

It was not immediately clear where Bennett is from. Ouellette said the man was assisted by a friend after the fire was snuffed out, but his whereabouts Tuesday were not known. It was believed he might have left the area.

Lewiston firefighters spray down a burning camper Monday night off Strawberry Avenue. Randy Bennett, who lived in the camper, was not hurt, Lewiston Fire Investigator Paul Ouellette said. Lewiston Fire Department

Ouellette described Bennett as young and healthy, but said he had lost everything during the COVID-19  pandemic. Bennett had been living in the camper as a result, Ouellette said, and lost all of his possessions to the fire.

“My heart went out to him,” Ouellette said.

The investigators spent Monday night probing the remains of the camper.

“Following my investigation,” Ouellette said, “I noted that he was using a car battery with jumper cables to power up the fuse box, and it shorted out and caught the bed on fire that was next to the battery.”

Several people in the area said the camper first appeared on Strawberry Avenue at the start of the previous weekend. The scorched shell of the camper remained in the empty lot Tuesday.