Josh Wenzel was outside touching up paint Sunday on the house he moved his family into less than two years ago in Oregon City when he saw smoke billowing from his neighbor's house across the street about 1 p.m.

Wenzel saw the homeowner, an older man who he didn't know by name but often saw working in his yard, come out of his front door and look around. The man, later identified as 88-year-old Lawrence Cambra, went back in.

Wenzel ran to the house and pounded on the door.

"I was worried about him and wanted to see if he needed help," Wenzel said.

No one answered. Wenzel ran to the back and then to the front, as smoke billowed out of attic vents. Wenzel tried the door. It was unlocked so he went in.

"As soon as I got inside, I knew it was serious," Wenzel said. ""I was screaming 'Anybody in here? Get out, get out.'"

Smoke was pouring into the living room. It looked like the fire was in the kitchen. The smoke was so thick he couldn't breathe standing up, so Wenzel tried to crawl in but only got about five feet before a chunk of the ceiling fell and the carpet caught fire.

Wenzel got out. His wife, who was across the street in their front yard talking to a 9-1-1 dispatcher, yelled that Cambra had just gone in a side garage door so Wenzel dashed over there.

Witness account of the shooting

The man's old German Shepherd ran out of the garage in a frenzy, and then Cambra came out. His gray hair was singed and his white T-shirt was black with soot. His eyes looked wild and Wenzel said he was mumbling. "I did this," Wenzel heard him say. "I started the fire."

"He didn't seem to be in his right mind," Wenzel said. "He wasn't frantic or worried."

Wenzel, 25, realized this wasn't an ordinary house fire. He wondered about a woman who was frequently at the house. Where was she?

Wenzel tried to coax Cambra away from the burning house until he noticed Cambra was holding a black revolver in his right hand. He wasn't pointing it at Wenzel but his arm was outstretched, slightly in front of his body, motioning with it when he talked.

Wenzel sprinted away, and ducked behind the brand new garage -- not even painted yet -- that Cambra's neighbors just built. He then crawled through the fence that separates Cambra's property from the street, yelling at neighbors to stay back, that the man had a gun. Wenzel locked himself, his wife and their young son inside their home. They watched as flames shot out of the house and the middle started to collapse.

Wenzel, who was then looking out his front window, saw a patrol car pull up. Wenzel opened the front door.

"I wanted to be available in case anything was needed," he said.

Josh Wenzel talks to reporters about the events he witnessed outside his home in Oregon City Sunday afternoon. Wenzel, 25, was outside touching up paint on his house when he saw smoke billowing from his neighbor's house across the street about 1 p.m.

An officer walked up the street, about 75 feet from the burning house. Wenzel couldn't see Cambra, who he thinks was standing in his driveway about 15 feet from the burning house.

"I did not see him," Wenzel said.

Reserve Officer Robert Libke, 41, had his hand on the gun at his side and was yelling at Cambra to drop his weapon. Wenzel heard a shot and saw blood spurt from Libke's forehead.

Libke fell on his back, and stayed there motionless for at least 20 minutes before emergency crews could help him.

Wenzel ran back in the house, locked the door and moved his wife and 18-month-old son to a back room.

"At that point, we basically felt trapped in our house," Wenzel said.

About 20 minutes later, cops came to the door and evacuated the Wenzels along with the rest of the street. They huddled with at least five other families in a neighbor's house about a block away -- peeking out of the windows and processing the events.

Finally, they heard three gunshots, which killed Cambra, and were allowed to leave the house.

Wenzel is now staying with his wife's relatives in West Linn.

"We're a little nervous to go home," Wenzel said. "It will be weird to go back and relive this situation and see the pile of rubble there and know where the officer fell."

But mostly Wenzel is concerned about Libke.

"Any good news about that would bring a lot of relief," he said.

Molly Harbarger contributed to this report.

-- Lynne Terry