Flight Crew reported an engine fire during engine start. The flight crew shut the engine down and evacuated the aircraft.
Synopsis
Flight Crew reported an engine fire during engine start. The flight crew shut the engine down and evacuated the aircraft.
Narrative
On Day at ZZZZ we were pushing back from spot XXX onto Taxiway X with winds from the northwest at approximately 20 kts.; giving us a tailwind for engine start. The push back driver cleared us for engine start and the Captain called to start Engine 3. Engine 3 started uneventfully and the Captain directed the start for Engine 1.Engine 1 N1 was struggling to increase with the tailwind climbing to 4 percent then dropping back to zero and showing an amber X on the gauge for a few seconds before showing N1 rotation again. I applied the start lever at 15% N2. The engine did not light off upon start lever application. The igniters were switched from system B to system A and the engine began starting normally with no abnormal increase in EGT or other erroneous engine parameters. After a short time; the Ground Crew disconnecting the tow bar yelled 'You're on fire; get off the airplane!'. The Captain tried to query the Ground Crew as to what was happening; but they were already off headset at that point. The Captain directed the ground egress and began the emergency shutdown of the number 1 motor and I called Ground declaring a fire in the number 1 motor at the same time as we had no other indication from the Ground Crew that anything else was wrong with the aircraft. We completed the aircraft shutdown and the Captain attempted to see where the fire was located; but could not see anything out the window. We elected to use door R1 for the egress due to the high winds from the left side of the aircraft and the likelihood the fire was also on that side. Upon deploying the slide; the winds were blowing it nearly horizontal to the ground during gusts. The Aircraft Maintenance team then drove out to stabilize the slide to help us make a safe egress.Upon egress; we could see no visual signs of a fire continuing to burn. However; the fire department informed us they foamed the number 1 motor as something was still smoldering inside it.Aircraft fire reported by the Ground Crew. No flight deck indications.
Second reporter narrative
Winds reported out of the northwest at 20G25 (varying). Push back onto Taxiway X leads to winds blowing almost directly into the tailpipe of the engines. This appears to be the only way to push back in ZZZZ. Also of note; the APU was also somewhat weak and had a hard time running all three packs at the same time. While not totally abnormal; this did not help the tailwind situation.Engine #3 started normally; although with it being very cold and a cold soaked engine/airplane there was a lot of smoke (not unexpected).When we started engine #1; it initially did not ignite. Early on; I switched igniters from B to A and still no ignition. During this time; the N1 gauge was intermittent and showing indications that it was having a hard time spinning. With the strong tailwind; this made sense-although it was distracting. I was beginning to think that the engine was not going to ignite and was about to call for the abnormal start checklist. At that same time; the engine started and appeared normal until the push back crew (on headset) yelled; 'You're on fire! Get out of the airplane!' There was no further communication from the Ground Crew; even after I attempted to get clarification. I instructed the First Officer to contact Ground Control and advise them of our fire situation and request fire trucks. At this point; I could not see back towards the number 1 engine enough to determine what was happening. There had initially been a lot of smoke; which coincided with the Ground Crew's 'fire' call to us. At this point; I shutoff fuel to the #1 engine and let it motor for several seconds while waiting for the Ground Crew to reestablish contact. When that did not happen; I made the call to evacuate the aircraft. I completed the evacuation checklist and fired the #1 engine bottle. I instructed the First Officer to prepare to evacuate from the R1 door; due to the fire being on the left side. I tried one last attempt to see what was happening at the #1 engine by opening my clear view window and looking out. I was not able to satisfactorily determine what was or was not happening; so the decision was made to evacuate.On my command the First Officer blew the door/slide on the R1 door and the slide inflated normally. The wind was whipping the slide around; so we waited a little longer while the ground crew stabilized the slide. We both egressed down the slide without incident.After egress; we debriefed members of the ZZZZ Airport Fire Department; the Duty Officer; a representative from flight management and Maintenance Control (along with local maintenance). Start/engine malfunction led to some sort of engine fire; possibly tailpipe fire. Contributing issues were strong tailwind; weak APU and lack of additional communication from ground crew after the initial fire call. Push back crew (on headset) is almost always better with a trained AMT that can best assess and communicate what is happening behind the cockpit.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.