A leading fire safety expert told a jury that if smoke alarms had been working he thought the mother of two little boys who died in a blaze would have had time to rescue them.
Dr David Crowder, an expert witness, was giving evidence at the trial of 51-year-old property manager Kamal Bains who is accused of two counts of gross negligence manslaughter.
Three-year-old Logan Taylor and two-year-old Jake Casey perished in February 2016 following the blaze at the rented property in Alder Street, Fartown, despite the frantic attempts of their mother to save them.
The trial, which started earlier this month, heard previously that the boys’ mother, Emma Taylor, had begged Bains to fit smoke alarms but kept being fobbed off.
In court on Monday Dr Crowder described how he had supervised a meticulous reconstruction of the blaze which is thought to have started in a TV in the boys’ bedroom following an electrical fault.
He said there was a small window of opportunity – several minutes – in which the boys’ mum would have had a chance to rescue her sons before conditions became unbearable due to a cocktail of gases and the heat.
The jury then watched two videos showing how the fire was replicated.
Prosecutor Allan Compton then asked Dr Crowder: “In your view, therefore, if working smoke alarms had been present and, if your reconstruction is accurate, would she (Emma Taylor) have been able to rescue the children?”
Dr Crowder replied: “Yes, in my opinion she would.”
Bains, of Stableford Gardens, Birkby, denies two counts of manslaughter and one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The trial continues and is expected to last another two weeks.
