October• 2018 | 121READER’S DIGEST
hisFacebookfeed,hesawmessages
fromapairofbrothersnamedCar-
losandManfredRuiz,oldfriends
whohe’dworkedwithaslifeguards
attheswimmingpoolbythetower.
The Ruiz brothers were search-
ingfortheir12-year-oldniece,who
hadn’t been seen since the start of
thefire.Badillotalkedtothemon
thephoneandtheysaidthegirlhad
livedonthe20thfloor.Hername
was Jessica.
SomethingwenttightinsideBa-
dillo’sstomachthenandstayedthat
way for weeks.
He had till then been reckon-
ing with a dull, free-floating guilt
about his promise to the woman in
the lobby – guilt that he’d let down
strangers.Nowhefeltthathe’dlet
down someone he knew.
By the time Badillo told his sis-
teraboutit,“hewasinbits,”Jane
recalled. “Couldn’t let go, you
know?” She told him, “There’s noth-
ingmoreyoucouldhavedone.”The
girl’s remains were later identified
on the 23rd f loor.
Manyvictimsofthefire,espe-
cially those on the uppermost sto-
reys,hadclimbeduptotrytoescape
it.JanerecalledhowBadillowent
over and over decisions he’d made in
thetower.Onhisfirsttripinthelift,
shouldhehavegoneupafteritgot
stuck, and not come down? Jessica
mighthavebeeninthestairwell,
justoneortwofloorsabove, and he
could have got to her.first-responding firefighters had
beenthereforsixhours.Theywere
abouttobesenthome.
Badilloreplied:“Bitnumb.”
“Love you,” his sister messaged.
AfewminuteslaterBadillocon-
tactedheragaintoaskwhatthey
were saying on the news. How many
people?Janesaidfivewasthecon-
firmed number so far. Badillo wrote:
“It’smuchmorethanthat.”
Rank-and-file first responders
werebannedfromtalkingtothe
media until investigations could
be completed. But Jane reported
that when Badillo and the other
fire-fighters were relieved, they
weresentforacupoftea,thende-
briefed and sent home. Badillo had
riddenhisbikeinbeforehisshift,
and now he rode it home, the smoul-
dering tower still in view.
Whenhegotbacktohiswifeand
his baby daughter, Badillo tried to
sleep,buthecouldn’t.Heended
up reading about Grenfell on his
phone, and while scrolling through
MANY VICITMS OF THE
FIRE, ESPECIALLY
THOSE ON THE
UPPERMOST STOREYS,
HAD CLIMBED UP TO
TRY AND ESCAPE IT