Area 40 Car Fire 03/12/2008     A car caught fire and burned in a downtown Charleston parking garage on Wednesday, but firefighters put out the blaze before it spread to any other vehicles. Around 8 p.m., passers-by noticed bright orange flames coming from the third story of the garage on Summers Street between Virginia and Quarrier streets. Sparks cascaded down the side of the structure facing Capital Street and thick, black smoke stained the façade. A series of loud pops and explosions led witnesses to believe that more than one car was engulfed, but Charleston Fire Department Capt. Tim Roe said only one car actually burned. The car was a Jaguar, and appeared to be a total loss, he said. There were no cars parked immediately beside the vehicle, Roe said. The sparks were caused by water hitting the high amounts of magnesium metals in the car, he said. The fire was out within minutes of the fire department's arrival. Cy Manning, who lives in a fourth-floor apartment on Brawley Walkway, had just sat down to his dinner of chicken fettuccini when he heard a series of loud pops. From his living room window, which overlooks the garage, he saw the flames spread out and get wider. "I heard a repeated 'Pop! Pop!'" he said. "I thought it was the ballpark doing fireworks."       Lawyer Eric Silkwood was on his way into the garage to get his car, having worked late at nearby firm Flaherty Sensabaugh and Bonasso, when he was stopped by firefighters. "That's where our firm has the most parking," he said. Looking at the smoke and water, he estimated that his 1997 gold Lexus - "It's old, but it runs great" - was right next to the fire. The ceiling lights are burned out on the second floor of the Summers Street parking garage where Charleston firefighters inspect damage from a car that caught fire and produced heavy smoke Wednesday evening."I'm fairly sure that's going to be my floor," he said. When firefighters told him it would be a while before he could get to his car, a family that had just finished dinner at Ichiban offered him a ride home. The cause of the fire was under investigation, Roe said.