WINTHROP — Community members have stepped up to help the 72 Royal St. resident who lost his home Monday to a fire.

The fire burned through the roof of the Cape Cod-style home and the attached garage, causing severe damage and destroying belongings inside. An exterior wall collapsed around 5 p.m., just over an hour after the first firefighters arrived at the scene.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear, but Winthrop Deputy Fire Chief Mark Arsenault said he suspected it was related to cardboard being burned in a wood stove.

Fire crews from Winthrop, Augusta, Monmouth, Manchester and Hallowell spent approximately four hours on the scene.

Asa Isles was renovating the home he shared for several years with his dog Brody. The house is owned by Isles’ mother, who lives in California.

Mike Bourgoin, who lives next door at 80 Royal St., is hosting Isles and his dog while he awaits insurance information. He said Isles is “like a kid” to him, and they’ve been friends since shortly after Isles moved in.

Bourgoin, who has mobility issues, said Isles was helping him out of his car and into a chair in his garage when the fire began. When Isles returned to the house after just a few minutes, he opened the door to smoke pouring out of the chimney and filling the house, Bourgoin said.

“Asa’s the type of person to give the shirt off his back to help someone, and now this,” Bourgoin said.

Cody Maitland, a longtime friend of both Isles and Bourgoin, saw Winthrop residents posting about the fire on social media and called Bourgoin to confirm the news.

Maitland then started responding to comments on social media asking about the best ways to help with information about Isles’ clothing sizes and immediate needs for community members to donate. Bourgoin, who is coordinating most of the donations, said Isles has received one cash donation so far and that many more donations are “on the way.”

“There’s a lot of people that are helping out,” Maitland said. “Obviously, he has really no place to put the stuff. He does have a trailer and a truck that wasn’t fully damaged, so he could put some belongings in there, but at this point, it’s a total loss. Housing is going to be huge.”