seenitall
with more data that is available in the press you might change your view.
1. reports are the "SMOKE" was coming from the air vents, so it was a good bet that is air conditioning smoke, not a wheel well fire.
2. if you listen to the ATC tape as airbubba posted, you will hear the captain advising ATC that the evacuation is cancelled. You will then hear ATC telling the captain that people are already out the back slides.
3. Oxygen masks in the cabin are not designed to protect from smoke, they are solely to allow a cabin depressurization situation to be handled. (some medical situations too, but better handled with walk around bottles)
4. IF an evacuation is ordered and important to the safety of life, YOU DO NOT ALLOW PASSENGERS TO TAKE THEIR SUITCASES.
Sorry seenitall, this is textbook how NOT to handle a situation. And it doesn't take too much experience to know this was screwed up and LUCK had something to do with no one getting badly hurt.
YOU don't evacuate just for fun, someone will get hurt in an evacuation. YOu evacuate because lives depend upon it and this situation DID NOT WARRANT AN EVACUATION.