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Woman selflessly saves Nemo

A woman is being praised for her bravery after rushing into a burning unit block to save a cat's life, while risking her own.

She found Nemo the frightened feline, and even insisted her ambulance stop at the animal hospital on the way to hers.

As flames threatened to engulf the small block of units in Glenbrook in the lower Blue Mountains, residents ran for their lives.

Defying the danger, 23-year-old vet Sarah Coall returned to find Nemo her nine-year-old pet.

"I just saw these flames coming from the ceiling which was pretty scary," Sarah said.

“Probably against anybody's advice I spent about 15 minutes trying to find my cat.”

Sarah found Nemo cowering under a bed, she then alerted firefighters who rescued the pet.

Suffering from smoke inhalation, the young vet from Britain insisted the cat be treated first at the surgery where she works.

Nemo's other owner and Sarah's boss praised his flat mate and firefighters for their bravery.

“Thanks guys! Appreciate it. I'm sure Nemo does too, he just doesnt know how to say it," owner Tony Karolis said.

Sarah says she didn't really care about herself, and that she just wanted to get Nemo out.

But firefighters weren't so impressed with her decision to risk her life.

"She put herself in potential harm the outcome of that could have been a lot worse than what it was," Inspector Josh Turner said.

"Our message is get out, stay out."

Firemen say the survivors owe their lives to a working smoke alarm.