Bare-chested man hailed as fire hero

An Australian man who climbed bare-chested onto a hotel roof to help save children sheltering from wildfires raging all around was hailed in parliament as a hero yesterday.

Armed only with a garden hose, tradesman Peter Thorneycroft, 43, fought flying embers hitting the roof as dozens of children huddled in the hotel's cool room and neighboring houses went up in flames, the Daily Telegraph reported.

"There in the papers today is the unforgettable picture of him standing calmly on the roof dressed in a pair of shorts and thongs (flip-flops), no shirt as the sky blazed orange around him," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told parliament.