Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for detecting smoke in a computer system. The system detects smoke via a first smoke detector located at an airflow inlet of the system or a second smoke detector located at an airflow outlet of the system. Next, the system determines whether the smoke originates from inside of the system or outside of the system to yield a determination of an originating location of the smoke. Based on the determination of the originating location of the smoke, the system then generates a response to the smoke.