Woman fights fire - topless

A Darwin woman is a heroine in her neighbourhood after she saved her apartment building from going up in flames - topless.

Fitness instructor Tash Bennett was sunbathing by her pool on Thursday afternoon when a nearby palm tree caught on fire, the Northern Territory News reported.

"I was just lying there when some ash fell on top of me," she told the newspaper. "I wasn't really paying attention because I was listening to my iPod."

Ms Bennett quickly grabbed a fire hose. It was only after battling the blaze for five minutes that she looked down and realised that she was still topless, she said later.

"I was pretty red faced on the day, having to hold myself while running to reception," she said."I was sunbaking. I wasn't exactly prepared."

"But you've got to put out the fire before you deal with that", she said.

A group of grinning onlookers applauded her efforts, the paper reported.