Cessna 150
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 24; Flight Crew Total 375; Flight Crew Type 7
Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
General Evacuated
Aircraft
During a late evening return trip to my home airport; I stopped in [another airport] to wait out some thunderstorms that were passing through the area.  I landed; shut down the airplane and called FSS on my phone to get a weather briefing for the remainder of my flight.  I waited until the top of the hour when the new weather advisories were issued.  With good VFR conditions for the route; I conducted a quick preflight and prepared to depart for [home].During the start checklist I gave the engine a pump of primer.  While cranking the engine for start there were no signs of it firing or turning over.  I waited about 30 seconds and tried again without priming; as the engine was still warm from the prior flight.  Again; there were no signs that the engine would start.  I then waited over a minute; and leaned the mixture and advanced the throttle before another attempt; suspecting that the engine may have been flooded.  I cranked again and the engine sounded like it was going to start but never did.Shortly after this and while awaiting another try; I noticed some smoke near the front of the cowling.  Although I couldn't see any visible flames; I pulled out the mixture control and cranked the engine with the throttle full open as a precaution for an engine fire.  I also moved the fuel shutoff up to the closed position as best as I could; although it appeared jammed and was extremely difficult to turn.  When I got out of the airplane I noticed a small fire burning on the nose wheel.  I went back to the cabin to search for a fire extinguisher but couldn't find one.  Upon going back to the front of the airplane I noticed that there was also a small fire in the air inlet/filter.  My reaction at this point was to call 911 for help.  I removed a few personal belongings and assured that the switches were off.A police officer arrived in about 5 minutes and handed me a fire extinguisher from his vehicle; which ended up not spraying as it needed to be recharged.  The fire department arrived in the next 5 minutes and the fire was still burning in the engine cowling.  While they were preparing to put out the fire; the engine started to crank for no apparent reason; which seemed strange since everything had been turned off.  This happened for almost a minute with the engine never actually starting; until they sprayed the cowling with water to extinguish the fire.Considerations- Considering the earlier weather at my destination; it was a non-rushed evening and I wasn't hurried.- I had started the airplane three other times that day.  During a prior attempt (cold) I remembered that the engine took a little more cranking to start than similar airplanes I'd flown.- The first signs of the fire (smoke) were subtle.  Had I noticed sooner; I may have executed the engine fire during start items sooner to better contain the fire.
C150 pilot reported he experienced an engine fire when he tried to restart the hot engine.