BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - While standing outside a burning vacant house in May 2012, former Birmingham police officer Curtis Jeffrey Thornton talked about how someone could go onto the Internet and find out how candles and clothing could be used in starting a fire, another former officer testified today.

Sharon Manaici, a former Birmingham police officer who testified she heard Thornton talking about the method for setting a fire, was among several witnesses to testify in the third day of Thornton's arson trial.

Thornton, 28, is on trial for four counts of second degree arson and one count each of attempted second degree arson and first degree criminal mischief related to four fires in Warrior and two fires in western Birmingham - an area to which he was assigned to patrol before his arrest - in April and May of last year. He maintains he did not set the fires.

Thornton was later charged with possession of child pornography, but that charge is not a part of this week's trial and jurors are not allowed to hear evidence about that.

The trial is being held before Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Clyde Jones. The prosecutors are John Geer and Joe Roberts. The defense attorneys are Brett Hamock and Cooper Ellenberg.

Manaici said that she had been called to a vacant house at 1708 29th Street in western Birmingham early in the morning of May 21 where two burglary suspects - a man and a woman - had been held by officers responding to the scene. She said she had been called in to handle the arrest of the woman suspect.

Manaici said that as she was leaving she saw Thornton inside the house and asked him if the basement had been checked. She said Thornton said the basement had been cleared.

About 10 minutes after she left the scene she responded to a house fire call at the same house. When she returned, Thornton was there with other officers. She said Thornton talked about how you could find on the internet how to use candles and clothing to start a fire that would give someone time to leave the building.

Manaici testified she later tried finding that on the internet but could not.

Mike Pate, a retired Birmingham Fire Department investigator, testified that he determined the fire had started in the basement. He stated he had collected pieces of newspaper, fabric and a waxy or paraffin-like substance that he sent for state forensic analysis. He testified the forensics did not confirm the presence of paraffin.

On cross examination by Brett Hamock, Manaici at first denied she had ever had a verbal altercation with Thornton before that night. But then she remembered she did have a disagreement while the two officers were responding to a call at a nightclub. A suspect had gotten his head busted open and Thornton had argued against the need to call paramedics, but Manaici said she did anyway.

Manaici said she liked everyone, but admitted under cross examination by Hamock that she did remember telling investigators she didn't like Thornton.

Manaici also testified that there was a van at the scene of the fire that had a number of tools and other things inside it, including some burnt pieces of wood. She said she did not know who owned the van.

Gina Scaldaferri, a Hoover Police Department computer forensics officer, testified that she found evidence of searches regarding fire and arson, and news clips and a video on the western Birmingham fires and photo of a fire in Warrior on laptops confiscated from Thornton's home.

Syed Munawar, a former clerk at the Marathon gas station in the 2100 block of Bessemer Road, also testified today that Thornton had set a fire on the counter of the station around Christmas time 2011. He said Thornton was in uniform when he poured alcohol on the counter, lit a match and set the counter on fire. "I put it out fast," the clerk said.

The fire singed the edge of the cash register, according to photos shown jurors.

A juror asked Munawar whether he found it scary. "Yes I did. It could have burned the whole gas station down," he said.

Hamock asked Munawar if he had been fired from the convenience store because his then girlfriend had stolen Thornton's laptop. Judge Jones quickly cut off that line of questioning. Hamock told the judge that he was asking about it to show potential bias because it was Thornton who had led to his firing.

Testimony from witnesses for the prosecution continues this afternoon.