An Edmonton man who made headlines after rushing into a burning building to save lives has been forced to give up his business and is now struggling to find work.
In January, 2017, a fire broke out in the high-rise apartment building across the street from Riza Kasikcioglu’s pizza and donair shop. Kasikcioglu rushed over and carried a disabled woman down seven flights of stairs. He went back in and pulled out three others.
When Kasikcioglu began suffering intense back pain after the fire, doctors discovered he had a brain tumour.
Kasikcioglu underwent surgery to remove the tumour in December, but the procedure damaged his mobility and balance and affected his cognitive skills.
Though Kasikcioglu had closed his shop to focus on recovering, with no other source of income he was forced to re-open in January.
Many in Edmonton’s Turkish community rallied to raise money and get the business back up and running, but Kasikcioglu has found the long hours on his feet are too much.
He has now put his business up for sale and his friends are once again appealing to the local community for help, this time to find Kasikcioglu new work.
With a report from CTV Edmonton’s Angela Jung
