L.A. County firefighters have not yet determined the cause for a house fire that broke out on the 20700 block of Dan Court in Saugus on Friday afternoon, but reported that it appeared to have started near the washer and dryer located in the garage, according to Maria Grycan, community services liaison for the Fire Department.   The fire was first reported at 3:23 p.m. Friday, and firefighters were on the scene six minutes later, according to Geovanni Sanchez, spokesman for the Fire Department.   “The fire was in the garage and the second story (of the home),” according to Deputy Villalobos of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.  The preliminary report did not indicate obvious signs of arson, and it was suspected to be accidental in nature, she added.  The homeowners were initially not reported to be inside when the fire occurred, and it is unknown if they have been back since the fire was put out.   On Monday afternoon during a phone interview, John Caprarelli, building official for the city of Santa Clarita, said that a building inspector typically will go to the resident’s home after the Fire Department has secured the property and notified them.  “Our job is to assess whether we believe the structure is safe for occupancy. That’s really the reason that we’re there,” said Caprarelli. “We’re not there to necessarily assess damage valuation, per se. We’re really there to determine whether the homeowner can continue to occupy the home, or whether we need to red tag it and limit occupancy completely.”   Caprarelli said that, unfortunately, when the inspector went to the home to determine if the house was able to be lived in, the house was boarded up and the inspector was unable to gain access.   Sanchez said that typically the Fire Department does not board up homes after firefighters secure the structure.   Scattered debris and burnt belongings were seen in the driveway following a house fire that impacted a two-story home on the 20700 block of Dan Court on Monday morning. Dec. 30, 2024 Maya Morales/The Signal When firefighters begin to “mop up” a residential fire, they will take out anything flammable and damaged from the house to reduce the risk of the fire starting up again, but they won’t block a home off until the house is deemed to be dangerous to be occupied, he said.   Since most of the damage seems to be in the garage and the area above it, it is possible the main structure of the home was not damaged, assuming the “fire-rated separation” was not compromised, according to Caprarelli.  “Homes are built with a fire-rated separation between the garage and the rest of the house, and that generally consists of fire-rated drywall and a fire-rated door between the garage. If there’s a floor above the garage, then the building code requires fire-rated drywall to protect the rest of the house from a potential fire in the garage,” said Caprarelli. “I’ve been here at the city building and safety for 18 years and I’ve seen many, many garage fires where the home was saved by the fire-rated construction between the garage and the home.”  He said that on Monday afternoon the building inspector left a door hanger for the homeowner to hopefully move the process along of getting the occupants back into their house.   Senior Staff Writer Perry Smith contributed to this article.  The post Cause of Saugus house fire yet to be determined   appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.