Originally Posted by
turker339
And if said fire was in an overhead compartment and the central locking couldn't unlock it because of burnt wires etc. so the crew could get to and extinguish the fire?
I suppose you could make it fairly safe by using normally open switches to power solenoid controlled latches. That way the lockers would be unlocked by default. If power is lost they will unlock. But the cabin crew could hold the locks on in the few seconds when the passengers are starting for the exits. They would back that up with commands to run and leave the bags.