Former CAL FIRE firefighter accused of murder

Friday, April 4, 2008

Former CAL FIRE firefighter accused of murder

Steve Ray Strebe the suspect in the December 2007 shooting death of Mark Allen Owsley surrenders

A former CAL FIRE firefighter suspected of killing a disabled man with whom he fought on New Year's Eve in Banning surrendered Thursday to a judge at the Riverside courthouse.

Police had asked for the public's help in locating 31-year-old Steve Ray Strebe, who surrendered about 2 p.m., according to Banning police Sgt. Nic Schoen.

Strebe is accused of shooting Mark Allen Owsley in the back with a Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol in the 500 block of West Hoffer Street about 10:15 p.m. on Dec. 31, the sergeant said.

Owsley, 43, of Banning, died at San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital in Banning.

Strebe suffered a cut to his neck and two small puncture wounds in the stomach area that required him to be hospitalized following the altercation that led to Owsley's death, the sergeant said.

According to Schoen, the two men fought when Strebe ordered Owsley out of his home and the victim refused.

Owsley had a disabled arm from a motorcycle crash, the sergeant said.

Investigators developed information pointing to Strebe as the suspect and issued an arrest warrant, Schoen said.

At the time of the shooting, Strebe was a "limited term" firefighter with Cal-Fire, said fire Capt. Fernando Herrera.

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Friday, April 4, 2008