CAMDEN — An old shed near the tree line in back of the Camden-Rockport Middle School on Knowlton Street burned to the ground Saturday evening in a fire thought to be result of two people seeking shelter for the night.

A resident on Mechanic Street sighted the blaze and called the Camden Fire Department. By the time firefighters arrived, “there was nothing left standing but smoldering piles,” said Camden Fire Chief Chris Farley.

Camden Police responded to the fire, which consumed an old 8-foot by 12-foot compost shed near the athletic shed, and with the help of a Knox County Sheriff’s Office blood hound, traced the tracks of two people to a home on Gould Street in Camden.

The cause of the fire is being investigated, but it is thought that two, who left visible tracks in the snow coming and going to the shed, were seeking shelter for the night, temperatures at which hovered just above 0 degrees F.

“They were not likely kids,” said Farley.

He said it was possibly a case of homelessness, and said he is concerned about people looking shelter during the winter nights, and trying to warm spaces that have no heat. He said personnel at the middle school had noticed people hanging around the shed over the past few years.

The case remains under investigation by Camden police and the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657