Man rescued from West Conshohocken house fire

A Montgomery County man trying to fight a house fire with a garden hose Thursday morning was flown to Temple University Hospital with burns on his back and arm, police said.

Jason Freas, 27, was dragged out of his corner twin house on Front Street in West Conshohocken after the blaze was reported at 7:15 a.m., said Michael J. Sinclair, the borough's police chief.

About that time, retired Conshohocken Fire Chief Robert Phipps happened to be driving by when he saw flames in the rear of the second floor.

He entered the house to see if anybody was trapped, he said, and found Freas upstairs.

"I drug him partway down the steps. Then he wanted to go back," Phipps said. "I told him, 'You're going to be in a body bag' " if that happened.

Freas' injuries were not life-threatening, Sinclair said.

The damage to the house was severe enough that the entire twin was set for demolition, Sinclair said.

The fire was put out about an hour after it was reported. Its cause remained under investigation.

The presence of emergency equipment made it necessary to cordon off the area, backing up traffic for miles because Route 23, Fayette Street, Front Street, and Matsonford Road all converge in West Conshohocken, where I-76 also exits.