DC9-30 FLC DECLARED AN EMER WHEN SOURCE OF COCKPIT FUMES COULD NOT BE DETERMINED.

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WHILE DSNDING TO CROSS BASYE AT 9000 FT A STRONG SMELL OF FUMES (NO SMOKE) PERMEATED THE COCKPIT. WE CALLED THE FLT ATTENDANT TO DISCUSS SOMETHING BURNING IN OVEN OR PAX SMOKING IN LAV OR OTHER SOURCE; ALL PROVED TO BE NEGATIVE. AS ODOR WORSENED MASKS WERE DONNED AS A PRECAUTION AND I TRANSFERRED FLYING RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE CAPT; WHILE I CHKED THE RAIN REPELLANT BOTTLES AS A SOURCE. REPELLANT TURNED OUT NEGATIVE. RATHER THAN TRANSFER RESPONSIBILITIES AGAIN; THE CAPT CONTINUED AS PF; I ASSUMED PNF DUTIES. AT THIS POINT WE HAD BEEN CLRED DIRECT LGA; THE ARPT WAS IN SIGHT. WE WERE CLRED THE VISUAL TO RWY 22. AS THE ODOR WAS GROWING STRONGER; THE COCKPIT FUME EVAC CHKLIST WAS INITIATED AS THE SOURCE WAS STILL UNKNOWN. THERE WAS STILL NO SMOKE IN THE COCKPIT JUST STRONG FUMES. AS A FURTHER PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE; WE NOTIFIED THE TWR TO ROLL THE FIRE TRUCKS FOR US. A NORMAL LNDG WAS ACCOMPLISHED ON RWY 22. WITH NO DELAY IN THE TIME IT WOULD TAKE TO STOP; TURNED OFF ON HIGH SPD TXWY TOWARD THE FIRE TRUCKS; CAME TO A FULL STOP. PAX WERE DEPLANED BY MEANS OF TRUCK STAIRS. NOTE: UPON LNDG; FUMES SEEMED TO LESSEN CONSIDERABLY. THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO PAX OR DAMAGE TO ACFT. THE FIRE DEPT; UPON BOARDING AND INVESTIGATING; WITH INFRARED HEAT SCOPE; DETERMINED THAT A COFFEE POT ON THE GALLEY WARMER PAD HAD BURNING COFFEE SLUDGE WHICH WAS THE SOURCE AND FURTHER INVESTIGATION SHOWED THAT THE SWITCH TO THE WARMER PAD WAS OFF BUT THE PAD WAS STILL HOT. NOTE: THE PHRASE 'BURNING COFFEE SLUDGE' DOES NOT INDICATE FIRE. JUST CONTINUAL HEATING. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE ALARM CREATED BY THE FUMES WAS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE CIRCULATION SETUP IN THE DC9-30 ACFT. A FAULT IN THE GALLEY HOT PAD KEPT THE COFFEE STEWING AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL FORWARD FLOW DIRECTED THE SMELL TO THE COCKPIT. RPTR STATES THAT COMPLEX EXTOL ARR KEPT TASKS TO A MINIMUM. EMER WAS DECLARED AS A PRECAUTIONARY ACTION AND COMS WERE KEPT OPEN WITH THE FLT ATTENDANTS VIA INTERPHONE AND PHYSICAL PRESENCE. FLT ATTENDANT HAD TURNED OFF THE COFFEE POT SWITCH. RPTR'S MAIN CONCERN REGARDING EVACING WAS LANGUAGE BARRIER (ALL SPANISH SPEAKING PAX); BUT SPANISH SPEAKING FLT ATTENDANT COMMUNICATED EFFECTIVELY AND KEPT SIT UNDER CTL. EFFICIENCY IN HANDLING EMER WAS ENABLED BY GND CTL FREQ COM WITH FIRE; POLICE; AND FAA. COMPANY'S POLICY IS TO TREAT UNKNOWN WITH PRECAUTIONARY METHODS. RPTR FEELS OUTCOME WAS SUCCESSFUL; AND CASE IS CLOSED. THERE WAS NO FURTHER FOLLOW-UP.