Murray Home Burns While Sons at Games

Tracy Murray lost his home last week while playing basketball against USC.

Cameron Murray lost his while playing basketball at Chino.

A grease fire effectively gutted the house in Glendora where UCLA forward Tracy Murray lived while attending Glendora High, and where his parents, Bob and Candy, and younger brother, Cameron, still resided.

The outside walls are standing, but most of the inside of the house either burned or was soaked, Candy Murray said Tuesday. She said that the roof, carpeting, wallpaper and several walls would have to be replaced, but that a trophy room filled with memorabilia was saved. A fire official estimated the extent of the damage at about $125,000, she said.

The fire last Wednesday night started in the kitchen while Candy was cooking french fries.

She had dropped Cameron, a freshman at Glendora High, off to play basketball against Chino, and her husband was in the shower, preparing to go to Tracy’s game at the Sports Arena.

Candy Murray left the kitchen to “freshen up” in preparation for going to Cameron’s game, she said, and when she returned a few minutes later, “the stove and cabinets were on fire.” The fire spread to the attic, burning the roof.

For a few moments, Candy and her husband were stuck in an inside back porch, caught between the flames and the back door, which was locked with a double dead bolt. Bob Murray found a key and they escaped.

Candy Murray called the Sports Arena, where a message was garbled before being given to UCLA assistant Brad Holland shortly before halftime.

Before going out to play the second half, Tracy Murray was told his grandmother’s house was involved in a fire.

He scored 15 of his 24 points in the second half in the Bruins’ 76-74 loss to USC.

“I’m just glad my parents got out alive,” Tracy Murray said.

Cameron Murray, who is a starter and leader at Glendora as a freshman, suspected something was wrong when his mother didn’t show up for the game at Chino. He learned of the fire from his father and pulled himself from the game with a few minutes to play.

Glendora beat Chino, 59-47.

The Murrays have rented a house down the street, where they will live until their home isrebuilt.