BLAZE BREAKS OUT AT AREA HOME; FIRE CREW CONTAINS FLAMES IN GARAGE.

Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer

Flames broke out Tuesday in the garage of a Valencia home, but were doused before spreading to the house, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said.

Investigators are trying to determined what caused the residential blaze that resulted in more than $20,000 worth of structure damage.

Benny Briones, 17, and his sister, Lorraine, 14, were at home at the time of the fire and said they didn't realize anything was wrong until smoke alarms began to sound in the single-story home.

``I was in my room and Benny was on the phone in my mom's room, and the alarm sounded and I saw smoke and told my brother to get out of the house,'' Lorraine Briones said.

The siblings, who moved into the Dalbey Road home with their mother in March, had been in the house only minutes before the fire began in the attached garage. Battalion Chief Mike Sandeman said the blaze started sometime after 3 p.m.

``There was a gas blower and a hot-water heater in there, so it could be that had something to do with it, but we have to investigate,'' Sandeman said. The blaze was contained within minutes and minor damage was done to a neighbor's home, Sandeman said.

Deavennie Cruz and Rachine Daniels, eighth-graders at nearby Placerita Junior High School said they saw the flames coming from the house and ran to the campus library to call for help.

``We saw all this smoke and ran to the library and the librarian asked us to get the address and she called the Fire Department,'' Cruz said.

Neighbors Brandon and Jessica Szajner said they were under the impression that someone had a nice fire going in their fireplace. ``Actually our mom thought it was coming from a fireplace but we saw the flames and our mother called 911 from her cell phone,'' Brandon said.

Sandeman, who retrieved a pet bird from the home - unharmed - said he hopes to quickly trace the cause of the fire.