Bryonie Gawith, 29, Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle died following the blaze at their home in Westbury Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, in the early hours of August 21 last year.
Mohammed Shabir, 44, and Calum Sunderland, 25, both of Keighley, are currently due to go on trial next week after pleading not guilty to murdering Ms Gawith and the three children, and attempting to murder Ms Gawith’s sister, Antonia Gawith.
Bradford Crown Court previously heard that a third man arrested at the scene of the fire was ‘in a coma’ and would not be ready for trial ‘even if he does wake up’.
Prosecutor Matthew Bean said it had previously been thought the man ‘was not expected to survive, or if he did, it was going to take a considerable amount of time for him to recover’.
But Mr Bean told Monday’s hearing: ‘In January and February, we received updates indicating a marked improvement in his condition.
‘The summary of the current prognosis … (he) is expected to survive and the expected timescale for discharge from hospital is between a number of weeks to a small number of months.’
The court heard he may be fit to stand trial by the end of the year.
An application to delay the trial of Shabir and Sunderland so the three men can stand trial together if the third suspect is charged was adjourned until next week.
Sunderland was arrested following police inquiries in the Keighley area four days after the fire, on August 25.
Shabir was arrested when he attended a police station the same day.
West Yorkshire Police previously confirmed the man in hospital is the ex-partner of a woman who was visiting the family.
