The problem with an entry door on the shared wall between garage and house is that, from the pics we have here, there is only one place it could be. That is near the front of the garage right next to the front wall. If there were to be a stairway from the basement up to the garage level the headroom needed for the stairwell would be very visible through the glass of the door on the stoop. The top of the stairwell, at the entry door to the garage, would begin about mid-way up the door on the stoop and cross it at an angle downward corresponding to the angle that the stairway descended. The stoop door would be unusable.
We need a better set of photos.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS375&q=800%20A%20street%20SE%20washington%20DC&um=1&biw=1344&bih=630&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=il BEFORE THE FIRE