Many kids dream of one day growing up to be a firefighter, but for 26-year-old Isabella Santana, that dream became a reality last Friday when the courageous young woman unplugged her straightener before leaving the house.
“What was going through my mind at the time?” says Santana. “That’s hard, because it’s all kind of a blur now. Like time sped up and slowed down all at once. Deep down, I just knew what I had to do in the moment.”
“I guess in a moment like that, your body just takes over,” she adds. “Which in my case was remembering to unplug my straightener from the wall before I went out so that my apartment wouldn’t catch on fire. Does that make sense?”
Heroes decide what makes sense, Santana. So you tell us.
“As many as 50,000 fires are started by neglected hair tools each year, month, and even day,” says Santana. “I only hope my story can raise awareness so more hair straightener users are inspired to take that precautionary step and not leave a piece of steaming metal on their bathroom sink or wood floor.”
And we’re not the only ones feeling moved by Santana’s tale.
“As firefighters, we may stop fires that exist,” says local firefighter Karin Jordan. “But Isabella stopped a fire before it existed. And that’s every firefighter’s real dream. The ultimate move in the battle against fire.”
Santana’s roommates, the lucky beneficiaries of her good deed, are similarly in awe of sharing a home with a certified heroine.
“You’re writing an article about Isabella?” says Quinn Spiegel. “For unplugging her straightener once? She’s left it plugged in and turned on like a hundred times. I’ve had to run into her room when I smelled smoke.”
Wow. It’s disheartening to see that some can’t simply be grateful to live with a local celebrity and must resort to tearing her down, but for Santana, it was never about the fame or accolades to begin with.
“I think I’ve fallen in love with saving lives,” says Santana. “I hope I get the chance to do CPR soon. I’m not trained but I’m pretty sure I could feel it out.”
And don’t try and stop her!
