SAN DIEGO Calif. -- Hero wouldn't necessarily be an overrated term when it comes to Navy Seaman Steven R. Lovett. He risked his life to save that of a 20-year-old woman during the recent wildfires.

Lovett, a hospital corpsman assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, rescued Allyson Roach of Valley Center from the Paradise Fire Oct. 26. The Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, who returned to Camp Pendleton in August, suffered second- and third-degree burns to 20 percent of his body.

Roach is listed in critical condition at the University of California at San Diego Medical Center, according to her family. Roach's younger sister, Ashleigh Roach, 16, died in the blaze.

"He's my hero," said Lori Roach, Allyson's mother. "He could have got out of that car. He could have left my daughter in that car. If it wasn't for him, I would have lost both daughters."

When Lovett lay down to sleep at a friend's house Oct. 25, he had no idea that the next morning would find him running for his life or pulling Roach from a burning vehicle in the middle of a roaring wildfire.

After the "Defenders of Freedom" parade in Oceanside Oct. 25, Lovett arrived at the Roach residence, nestled among the hills in Valley Center, near the San Pasqual Indian reservation. He arrived wearing shorts and a T-shirt, leaving his uniform in his car outside. A chance request from Roach made him change his mind and don his uniform.

"They were having a Halloween party... she said to put on the cammies," Lovett said.

The night wore on with news reports of the wildfires ravaging the area flashing across the television. Neither Lovett, nor the family, had any idea they would soon be in the middle of the tempest.

As the party wound down, guests looked for places to lie down for the night.

Lovett's girlfriend, Elisabeth Laird, decided to go back to her own home and asked Roach to take her there, Lovett remained at the Roach residence. Along the way they noticed the beginnings of the Paradise Fire, which would grow to encompass 56,700 acres and destroy more than 175 homes and 400 vehicles.

Laird said they detoured to take a look, before continuing to her house. Roach drove off and Laird watched the taillights fade into the night sky. The red glow stuck an eerie chord with Laird.

"As she was leaving, I had this feeling that she should not be going back there," Laird said.

Lovett woke early the next morning to chaos and panic. The fire that was a faint glow on the horizon was now ripping through Valley Center and was just minutes from charring the Roach home.

"The next thing I knew, the sheriff was knocking on the door," Lovett said. "We saw smoke when we looked out the front door and saw flames coming up over the horizon."

The deputy sheriff told them they had less than ten minutes to gather their belongings and get out of the house. Firefighters had been unable to stop the oncoming fire.

"So we started packing stuff up, wasting time trying to pack our belongings instead of going," Lovett said. "By that time the flames were on our cars."

The family along with Lovett, rushed into their cars, finding their swift exit was hampered by the Roach's long, narrow driveway. They couldn't simply turn around. They had to back out the way they drove in.

Lovett, still in his cammies, left the house with Allyson Roach and they got into her truck, only to realize that she left her keys in the house. They left her truck and jumped into Lovett's car.

"We started backing up, but the smoke was so black we couldn't even see the road," Lovett explained.

Lovett's unfamiliarity with the driveway, combined with the curtain of smoke was a stroke of disaster. He missed a curve and went down an embankment. The ditch was ablaze and the car quickly caught fire.

"Everything I owned, I had in that car, because I was moving into the barracks this week," Lovett said. "I told Allyson to get out of the car, but she was stuck. All my stuff had fallen on her, so I grabbed her and picked her up and threw her out of the car through the front seat."

With flames on him "like a blanket," Lovett dragged Roach up the embankment. The fire was already taking its toll. Flames licked at their flesh, searing their skin. Through the pain and confusion, Lovett used his own body to smother the flames covering Roach.

He pushed her the rest of the way up to the driveway, where her older brother, Jason Roach, picked her up and put her in his car. In the thick, dark smoke, Lovett went unnoticed.

Fearing he had been "left for dead," Lovett ran to the end of the driveway where another evacuee finally picked him up.

"Some lady just magically appeared. I don't even know who she was," Lovett said. "If it wasn't for that lady...I would have been fried to death."

Lovett was taken to the nearest house safe from the fire. There, he fought off shock as he directed others on how to treat the second and third-degree burns to his face and forearms.

Lovett was whisked to a fire station at the end of the block, where he was cut out of his still-smoking cammies. He was later flown by helicopter to UCSD Medical Center.

More than a week later, Lovett is still in extreme pain and unable to maintain his body temperature. He went in for his first surgery Monday. It's been painful and frustrating for the sailor who prides himself on serving with Marines.

"I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy," Lovett said.

Lovett's surgery Monday had doctors scraping dead flesh from his face and ears and grafting donor skin to his forearms to help them heal faster. He is expected to remain in the UCSD burn center for one or two more weeks.

While devastating to hear the news of Lovett, those who work closely with him weren't all that surprised of his reactions. He's long made a record of going out of his way to aid others.

"If you tell him to do a certain job, he'll make sure he gets everything done," said Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Leonardo Espain. "He even comes up to help you out. He'll drop whatever he's doing."

Lovett's battalion surgeon explained that his cool head in the midst of the inferno was a mainstay of his character within the battalion.

"He does the job well," said Navy Lt. David D. Proum, surgeon for 2nd Bn., 5th Marine Regiment. "He asks the right questions... makes the right assessments."

Lovett's mother has set up a trust fund at Washington Mutual bank, to help defray the costs of recovering his losses to the fire. The fund's account number is 3116701968 and is listed under Lovett's name.

E-mail Sgt. Epright at: EprightMJ@pendleton.usmc.mil