The engine of a PA38 failed on landing and the aircraft was stranded on the runway. After two attempts to restart; the engine caught fire and suffered significant damage forward of the firewall.

Narrative

During the landing roll the engine shut down and the aircraft came to a full stop on the runway. I tried to restart the engine; but the propeller was turning very slowly and the restart was unsuccessful. Traffic in the pattern intending to land inquired whether the runway would be cleared soon. I advised my engine had shut down and the runway would be cleared as soon as the engine restarted. I tried to restart the engine again but was still unsuccessful. During the second attempt; I saw white smoke coming from the engine cowling and stopped cranking the starter and turned off all the switches but the master switch and radio.I heard no loud 'bang' sound. After the observation of the irregularity; I made a radio call to inform all traffic in the pattern and to request assistance. After the radio call; I got out of the plane to check out the smoke condition. I observed small flames coming from the engine intake and tried to put out the fire but was unsuccessful without a fire extinguisher. I then made another radio call to advise the aircraft was on fire and requested assistance again. After 2-3 minutes; people from the FBO came with a truck and fire extinguisher to put out the fire. The engine compartment was burned badly but the airplane aft of the firewall was not damaged. I was not harmed.