By Pamela Constable and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:41 AM

An attempt to jump-start a car parked behind the Bolivian Embassy in Northwest Washington this morning led to a fire that consumed two vehicles, officials said, sending up a dark plume of smoke that could be seen from miles away.

No one was injured in the fire, which occurred in the parking lot behind the embassy, at 3014 Massachusetts Ave. NW on Washington's historic Embassy Row.

D.C. fire officials said the explosion that caused the blaze appears to have been an accident. But the incident nevertheless drew a large initial response from the U.S. Secret Service, which protects embassies, as well as D.C. police and emergency crews, who worked quickly to identify the cause of the fire and rule out the possibility that it stemmed from a hidden bomb or terror attack.

"It was two auto fires in the rear of the chancery. Investigators are on the scene," said D.C. fire department Lt. Sean Egan. "We are leaning towards an accident."

Police said they had received no threats prior to the incident and had made no arrests.

Aristedes Royo, Panama's ambassador to the Organization of American States, said his former driver, who is Bolivian, was helping a friend who works at the Bolivian Embassy try to jump-start his car. "It was a pure accident, nothing political," he said.

The resulting explosion caused both cars to catch fire, officials said. The cars could be seen in the parking lot after the blaze was extinguished, parked at an angle to each other and charred beyond recognition. Fire department officials said it was possible that dried leaves under one or both cars could have caught fire and contributed to the spread of the blaze.

"Possibly they crossed wires, which generated a spark," Egan said. "Many times in a situation like that, either the tires or the gas tank or shock absorbers will explode. We believe something did [explode], possibly the tires."

The large number of emergency vehicles on the scene forced the partial closure of Massachusetts Avenue, snarling the latter part of the morning commute. The embassy is located next door to the much larger British Embassy, and a few blocks from the National Cathedral.

Staff writer Paul Duggan and staff photographer Gerald Martineau contributed to this report.