Below quote is from the VS27 flight thread (which relates to a virgin flight turning back this month) where a poster describes action the crew took on a flight to Miami in 2004 following a similar smoke in hold warning.
After 15 mins, Aft Cargo temp remained absolutely constant (low) and as there was no sign of heat on the aft cabin floor it persuaded the three of us that perhaps there was less of a chance of a fire in there.
It is shocking that one has to wait for transfer of heat into the passenger cabin for confirmation of a fire in the hold?
Would a camera in the hold have eased concern in this case? or given the crew of VS27 confidence not to deploy the slides?