Flight Crew Commercial
Training / Qualification; Troubleshooting; Situational Awareness
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Flight Crew Returned To Gate; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action; General Declared Emergency; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
After starting the Number Two engine; the SMOKE warning light illuminated. The Captain directed me to call the Flight Attendant and see if he noticed any indications of smoke coming from the cargo compartment. The Flight Attendant notified me there was no indication of smoke or fire visible. The Captain called Ground and asked for the fire equipment to meet the airplane; he also called Operations and notified them we were returning to the gate area. The ground crew met the airplane and we deplaned in an orderly manner.
[Narrative 2 contains no additional information.]
A DHC-8-300 Master Caution and Cargo Smoke alerted during engine start so an emergency was declared. The aircraft returned to the gate and after passengers deplaned a faulty smoke detector was discovered.