LEWISTON – A teenage girl was being questioned late Wednesday after a T-shirt soaked in flammable liquid was hurled beneath a car, burning a man who attempted to retrieve it.

Police and fire investigators were treating the case as an arson. They responded at about 11:15 p.m. to the scene near the corner of Bartlett and Walnut streets.

Police said the girl was walking on Walnut Street when she lit the cloth on fire after soaking it in what may have been cologne or perfume. When the cloth went up in flames, she tossed it beneath the car, police said, although her intent was not immediately clear.

A man who tried to move the burning shirt away from the car suffered burns to his hands from fire and melting fabric. He was taken to Central Maine Medical Center. His name was not available as the investigation was getting under way.

Detectives were called in to question the girl and fire Inspector Paul Ouellette was investigating the fire.