Opinion ID: 2046018
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence of expert witnesses regarding Mercer fire.

Text: Dr. Patrick Pagni testified on behalf of plaintiffs concerning results of an experiment he performed to demonstrate the flow of smoke in the Mercer fire from the point of origin to the smoke detector. Dr. Jose Torero also presented testimony of behalf of plaintiffs concerning results of an experiment he supervised involving the response time of ionization smoke detectors in detecting smoke from a fire. Upon our review, we find no abuse of discretion by the district court in allowing into evidence the testimony of Drs. Pagni and Torero. The record shows that both witnesses were qualified experts in the area of fire safety engineering. Plaintiffs also presented an adequate foundation for the subject matter of each expert witness. Additionally, BRK's own expert witnesses criticized the results and reasoning of plaintiffs' experts and BRK's experts also presented their own opinions concerning the smoke pattern of the Mercer fire and the response time of ionization detectors to certain types of fires. The jury could evaluate the testimony of the expert witnesses and make its own conclusions, based on all evidence presented, concerning the Mercer fire and the effectiveness of ionization detectors in responding to certain types of fires. No error appears here.