A B757-200 ON CLBOUT AT 10000 FT DECLARED AN EMER AND DIVERTED DUE TO EICAS MESSAGES AND A SMOKE WARNING LIGHT CAUSED BY SMOKE DETECTOR FAILURE.

Narrative

MORNING DEP TO ATL FROM BOS. FULL ACFT. FO FLYING LOGAN 2 DEP. HDG 270 DEGS; CLBING OUT OF 10000 FT FOR 14000 FT ASSIGNED. FORWARD EQUIP SMOKE EICAS. BEGAN PROC. ACFT SMOKE ON OVERHEAD; FOLLOWED BY NUMEROUS EICAS; INCLUDING FORWARD EQUIP OVERHEAT. WENT TO SMOKE OF FIRE PROC. NOTICED SOME ELECTRICAL SMELL. DONNED OXYGEN MASK; DECLARED AN EMER WITH BOSTON. REQUESTED IMMEDIATE RETURN AND LNDG. EXCELLENT HANDLING. ON THE GND IN LESS THAN 8 MINS. CFR CREW INSPECTED -- NO FIRE. TAXIED TO GATE FOR NORMAL DEPLANING. MAINT FOUND A WHOLE STRING OF MESSAGES; EICAS ALERT; ETC. ACFT HAD MINOR ALERTS HISTORY DATING BACK SOME TIME. PROB PERPLEXED MAINT. ACFT SPEND THE NIGHT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATED THE ACFT WAS A B757-200 AND HAD PREVIOUS LOG RPTS OF FORWARD COMPARTMENT OVERHEAT EICAS ALERTS. THE RPTR SAID THE FIRST ALERT WAS AN EICAS MESSAGE 'FORWARD EQUIP OVERHEAT' THEN THE 'SMOKE' LIGHT ON THE OVERHEAD PANEL AND FINALLY AN EICAS MESSAGE 'FORWARD EQUIP SMOKE.' THE RPTR STATED AT THIS TIME THE FIRST FLT ATTENDANT RPTED SMELLING SOMETHING. THE RPTR SAID AN EMER WAS DECLARED AND THE ACFT WAS IMMEDIATELY RETURNED TO THE FIELD. THE RPTR SAID THE FIRE DEPT INSPECTED THE AIRPLANE WITH A SCANNER AND NO HOT SPOTS WERE DETECTED SO THE ACFT WAS TAXIED TO THE GATE. THE RPTR SAID MAINT COULD FIND NOTHING MALFUNCTIONING SO THE AIRPLANE WAS REMOVED FROM SVC AND WAS WORKED ON OVERNIGHT. THE RPTR STATED MAINT FOUND A FORWARD COMPARTMENT SMOKE DETECTOR MALFUNCTIONING AND REPLACED THE DETECTOR AND AN OVERHEAT UNIT.