What might occur if cooking fumes interfere with a smoke detector?

When cooking fumes interfere with a smoke detector, the detector may fail to activate. This is because many smoke detectors, particularly ionization types, can respond to particulates found in smoke but may also misinterpret other airborne particles, like those produced from cooking, especially if they are not dense enough to signal an actual fire emergency. If the fumes are too dense, the smoke detector could become overwhelmed and fail to detect significant smoke from a fire, leading to a dangerous situation.

In contrast, the other outcomes listed are less likely. A smoke detector continuously sounding would typically indicate the detection of smoke, not interference from cooking fumes. Triggering all alarms in the building requires a specific condition that exceeds thresholds typically set for nuisance alarms caused by cooking. Lastly, a complete shutdown of the detector is not a typical response to cooking fumes; instead, it may enter a non-alert state where it does not respond to the cooking particulates but remains operational for actual smoke detection.