To the rescue

Soldier, firefighter and savior of cats, this Santa is a real hero

BY ELLEN GILLETTE

You’ve probably seen the trope on television or in movies: A town so quiet that when a cat gets stuck in a tree, the entire fire department rushes to the rescue. Port St. Lucie firefighter Gustavo Santa helps cats on a regular basis, but more effectively in the long-term.

“Working 24-hour shifts, it’s hard to have a dog,” Santa said. “But five years ago, I saw a headline about adopting cats for the holiday.” 

Before he had time to follow up, a friend sent him the same link. “I thought, ‘That’s got to be something.’ I told them I wanted something old and ugly — like me,” he said with a chuckle. “But they’re not ugly; they’re sweet.”

In addition to fostering and adopting, Santa volunteers with Operation CatSnip of the Treasure Coast. “It takes about three days to trap a cat, take it to the vet for spaying or neutering, watch it to make sure there are no problems, then return it to the same area. A kitten can have kittens at about four months old, so spaying and neutering has one of the biggest impacts to avoid unwanted, homeless cats.” 

Santa also supports other animal rescue nonprofits, and has created fundraisers for cancer survivors and other causes. “The biggest thing is trying to recruit other people. Even just helping a little bit makes a difference.”

DISCIPLINED

Born in Colombia, Santa and his family moved to Connecticut when he was an infant. His mother worked in banking and insurance; his father, for Pratt & Whitney. The couple met taking English classes. Despite having Colombian and Puerto Rican relatives, however, Santa says he’s only about 70% fluent in Spanish. “I use it at work and when I visit family, but my mom wants me to get better.” 

Santa enjoyed history and art, played soccer, and was on the track and cross-country teams, but it was the idea of martial arts — of being a fighter — that appealed the most. He took judo and karate and, later, bando [pronounced BAWN-doe] — a multi-faceted system with roots in China, Myanmar, and India — eventually competing and teaching classes himself.

“We don’t look at ourselves as the absolute truth,” Santa said. “We have an open mind to other martial arts. Good discipline. Being respectful to each other. I incorporate yoga and meditation. Most of us focus on the physical, but we have to focus on the mental and spiritual too.” 

With such training, the military seemed like a natural progression. After high school graduation, Santa joined 

the Navy Reserve. He also worked for an ambulance company and took college classes, dreaming of becoming a paramedic.

Santa was deployed during Desert Storm to Bahrain, working in a tent hospital in a parking lot. “It was very up-to-date: central AC. We were assigned to the Marines, part of their chain of command and in their uniforms. But along with their insignia, we had the caduceus [medical symbol].”

During his three months in-country, he explored the bazaars a bit, meeting British “hashers” who welcomed him to join their noncompetitive and social running group, searching for clues along the route. “I was a runner, so that was cool.”

What wasn’t cool? Sleeping with no AC was one relatively minor inconvenience. More serious was when Iraqi forces — seeing a loss was imminent — set fire to oil refineries. The skies were dark, smoke-filled. “A lot of people have health effects from that, especially the ones from the front.”

LIFE CHOICES

Some of the options waiting back home were obvious. He’d met his girlfriend when she was a civilian government worker for the Navy — the coordinator for Advanced Cardiac Life Support instructors. Santa taught ACLS while working part-time as a paramedic for an ambulance company.

After getting married, the couple worked in Washington state where Santa became a certified firefighter. When his parents moved to Florida for his father’s job, they decided to follow them. Their two children were born in Florida.

Transferring to a fire department in Florida was a lengthy process. “I was missing some hours,” Santa said. “I was an outsider. Nobody wants to hear where you came from or what you did. I couldn’t sleep before the written test. Some guys here helped me study. There are always things that are done a bit differently — how they hold the lines, putting on a pack.”

Santa has been employed by the St. Lucie County Fire District since 1997, working in more than half of the stations while continuing his service in the Navy Reserve.

In 2004, when the war in Iraq had heated up, Santa was supervisor for his reservists’ group — but wanted to do more. “I called headquarters three times,” he said. “They just laughed the first time. I was twice the age of some of the guys. Finally they let me go. It was tough, a lot different than before.”

Thinking he’d be sent somewhere for a few months to get acclimated, he watched a four-hour video before being assigned to the infantry 1/23 Marines Charlie Company. Based on the Euphrates River, he was part of a QRF, or Quick Reaction Force. “Sort of a 911 for the Marines.”

Santa’s martial arts training and his experience as a paramedic helped him cope.“It was a stressful situation, but I left with a lot of good friends.”

KEEPING CALM

Santa plans to retire from the fire department in 2025, freeing up more time to pursue a recent passion — acting. He also hopes to return to teaching martial arts classes for all ages, incorporating yoga and meditation. “It makes you feel better about yourself,” he said. “We have too many suicides through different populations — the young, the old, veterans. I want to make an impact to prevent that. [Meditation’s] one of the best tools to address PTSD and depression.”

During two deployments and on the job, Santa has seen the benefits firsthand. Despite having witnessed heartbreak and tragedy, he tries to look on the positive side of things. Meditation helps.

“You don’t have to meditate for hours,” he said. “Even a minute can help. Close your eyes; take a few deep breaths. That resets things; calms you down, which helps you address the stresses of the day you’ll face.” 

You never know when a cat — or someone — needs a helping hand. 

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GUSTAVO SANTA

Age: 58

Lives in: the River Park area of Port St. Lucie

Occupation: 27 years as a paramedic and firefighter with St. Lucie County Fire District; owner-operator of Burmese Martial Arts Academy

Family: parents and sister in Jensen Beach; two grown children

Education:  associate’s degrees in emergency medical services and nursing, Indian River Community College; bachelor’s degree in fire science from Columbia Southern University.

Hobbies: Dancing, martial arts, yoga, hiking, the beach, music.

Who inspires me: “Bruce Lee, Muhammad Ali and my parents.”

Something most people don’t know about me: “I like to watch figure skating, whether singles or couples.”