Melville firefighter and EMT Isaac Vargas, second from right, saved a woman whose blouse caught fire two days before he donated a kidney to his older brother. He’s pictured with, from left: Melville Rescue Squad EMTs Debbie Archer and Linda McDonough, and Assistant Chief David Kaplan. *Photo by Steve Silverman*

By Janee Law
jlaw@longislandergroup.com

Isaac Vargas, a volunteer firefighter and EMT with the Melville Fire Department, saved two lives in one week -- first by putting out flames on a woman’s blouse, and then by donating a kidney to his older brother just two days later.

While attending a pool club on Westbourne Lane in Melville on Aug. 20, Vargas was a few feet away when he noticed a woman’s shirt accidentally caught fire from a Sterno food heater.

“She was cleaning up the food and the food heaters were on the trays and she picked up the whole tray without putting out the Sterno, and she tipped it and the gel tipped onto her shirt, lit her shirt on fire and the flames climbed up and her hair caught fire,” Vargas, 46, of Melville, said.

He immediately sprung into action.

“She was to my left and I saw her jumping and screaming so I grabbed her, pulled her to the ground and I rolled her onto the ground to put out the flames,” Vargas said.

He began first aid treatment to her wounds before the Melville Fire Department Rescue Squad arrived, under the direction of Assistant Chief David Kaplan. The 58-year-old woman suffered burns on her hand, arm, neck and shoulder and was brought to the Nassau University Medical Center.

As a firefighter, Vargas said, his training instantly kicked in when he saw the flames ignite the woman’s shirt.

“I just wanted to get to her as quick as possible to put the fire out and get the flames away from her face and hair as quick as possible,” he said. “It happened very quickly, maybe less than 10 seconds. Once I rolled her on the ground and stopped the oxygen on the fire, it exhausted quickly.”

Vargas has been a firefighter with the Melville firehouse since 2013. He said he joined because he likes to help people and wanted to get in shape to become his brothers kidney donor. Achieving his goal, Vargas was able to donate his kidney two days after saving the woman, on Aug. 22 at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center.

“I needed to get in shape because my brother, at the time, had kidney failure and was looking to get a transplant and I was not in shape to be able to donate,” Vargas said. “I’m so amazed that I was able to do it.”

When he found out his brother, Renson Del Santos, 51, had kidney failure, Vargas was in shock.

“He’s young and we’re only five years a part, and the process [dialysis] is hard for a young person so I didn’t want him to be going through that forever,” Vargas said. “We get along really well my brother and I so it was about how soon could I help him.”

Vargas said the surgery took about three hours, but was successful. Vargas is currently recovering at his Melville home.

He plans to return to the firehouse in six weeks.