I do not think 10 minutes for the Fire Department to arrive is unreasonable, if that is the time from activation of the local (smoke/heat detector) to arrival. Keep in mind many local alarms are just that, a notice to the occupancies to evacuate the premises. Someone must still call 911 or if the alarm system is through a commercial alarm company, they must contact 911. From time of the call to 911 it can take 1-2 minutes to gather the information, depending upon the jurisdiction they may or may not have computer assisted dispatching, it still takes a minute or so to get the information into the system and the system to activate the appropriate Fire Department alarm systems. At night it might take an extra minute or so for the personal to wake up and respond with the equipment. I know when an emergency arises, it can seem like an eternity for emergency services to arrive on the scene, but as it has been mentioned in other posts time perception can be significantly distorted.

The only comment on the front desk informing you to stay in your rooms: They may have been having problems with their system, knew from where the alarm was activated and was able to check out that there was no fire. However, I still think you did the right thing and would have done the same.

Pete