Grenfell friends in London Marathon run fundraiser

The uncle of a girl who died in the Grenfell fire has teamed up with his childhood friend to run the London marathon for two charities.

Manfred Ruiz's 12-year-old niece Jessica Urbano Ramirez was one of the 72 people who died in 2017.

His friend, firefighter Dave Badillo, was one of the first on the scene but he could not reach her.

Mr Ruiz said: "She was bubbly, the happiest little child always smiling and making people laugh."

Mr Ruiz grew up in London and has lived in Stroud for the past 13 years.

He and Mr Badillo were friends as teenagers working in the nearby leisure centre as lifeguards.

They got back into contact when Mr Badillo saw his friend's Facebook post trying to find Jessica.

It turned out that his friend had tried to get into the building to save her.

Mr Ruiz said Mr Badillo was working at North Kensington fire station on the day of the fire.

"He went up to assess the situation to see if he could get people out as quickly as possible and he got to a certain point and then the smoke just got too thick so he had to come back down to get his breathing apparatus.

"When he got back down to the lobby that's when he bumped into Jessica's older sister and that's when she said, 'my 12-year-old sister is upstairs' and that's when he grabbed a colleague.

"They went up to look for her but sadly by the time they got up there the door was already open of the flat - she had gone further up in the building."

They both later attended one-minute silence six days later in London as they had friends and family who were affected by the disaster.

"Since then we've had such a great bond," said Mr Ruiz.

The pair aim to raise £1,000 for two charities: the Grenfell Foundation and Kids on the Green which they have both supported and fundraised for since they were set up in the aftermath of the fire.

"We thought we should do something - not just for our own mental health but to give something back to the community."

The London Marathon takes place on Sunday, 3 October.

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