A dhc-8-300 master caution and cargo smoke alerted during engine start so an emergency was declared....

Attributes
ACN	1052008
Time
Date	201211
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Dash 8-300
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Cargo Compartment Fire/Overheat Warning
Person 1
Function	First Officer
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial
Person 2
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

Narrative:

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.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: 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.

Narrative: 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.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

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.