These two pages offer some good information on when and when not to call 911. I had a surprising amount of trouble finding a thorough resource, so let me know if you do make a flyer so I can add it to some information I’m compiling.

http://www.911.org/HowWhentoCall.php
http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/er/911.html

When you pull a fire alarm, it sets off the alarm, not the sprinklers. Sprinkler systems today have small vials of that burst when temperatures get too hot, melting/boiling the and trigger the sprinklers. (Clearly, I’m not a total expert, but I understand the net effect of how these work. I’m sure wikipedia has more details, but it doesn’t matter that much.)

I always call 911 in any situation that may be an emergency. In the case that it was an emergency, help is on the way. Even if it doesn’t look like an emergency, like a fender bender on the freeway in rush hour, or a stranded motorist in an unsafe section of freeway, I’ll call to notify in case no one had yet called. If people look very distraught, I’ll say so. I don’t want to offer information that declares a situation non-emergency when it may have been. Often, the operator tells me it’s already been reported, no harm, no foul, and I took no more than 30 seconds of the operator’s time.

The six trucks showing up may be impacted by your neighborhood, the density of housing in that area, the average age of buildings, etc. If you were in a warehouse district in Chicago and a kitchen fire turned into a blaze, that could quickly spread to multiple buildings. Better safe than sorry!

Good thing everything turned out okay!