PA-28 pilot reported experiencing an engine fire while attempting a hot engine start on the ground.

Attributes
ACN	1378204
Time
Date	201608
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-28 Cherokee/Archer/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	None
Component
Aircraft Component	Engine
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 190 Flight Crew Total 285 Flight Crew Type 265
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

Narrative:

I parked near the fuel tank and refueled. After refueling; I started the engine without primer (because it was a hot start) but the engine did not start. I tried to start engine again and I smelled something burning and saw smoke. I thought that maybe an engine fire occurred. Therefore; I kept cranking continuously to eliminate the fire. After the cranking; I shut down master and magnetos and leaned the mixture because I did not see the fire. Suddenly someone working at the airport yelled at me there was a fire and came out from the airplane and he used a fire extinguisher hung on the fuel station at the same time.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA-28 pilot reported experiencing an engine fire while attempting a hot engine start on the ground.

Narrative: I parked near the fuel tank and refueled. After refueling; I started the engine without primer (because it was a hot start) but the engine did not start. I tried to start engine again and I smelled something burning and saw smoke. I thought that maybe an engine fire occurred. Therefore; I kept cranking continuously to eliminate the fire. After the cranking; I shut down master and magnetos and leaned the mixture because I did not see the fire. Suddenly someone working at the airport yelled at me there was a fire and came out from the airplane and he used a fire extinguisher hung on the fuel station at the same time.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.