Hero in fire diagnosed with a brain tumour
Friends ask community to help pizza store owner awaiting surgery
Friends of a man hailed as a local hero are hoping the community will rally around him and his family as he battles a brain tumour.
When a fire broke out at the Oliver Place apartment building at 11740 Jasper Ave. on Jan. 19, as people rushed out to escape the blaze, local pizza shop owner Riza Kasikcioglu rushed in, knocking on doors to wake sleeping tenants and carrying a woman in a wheelchair on his back down the stairs from the seventh floor.
“He is the kind of person that jumps in without any reservation when people need help,” said Sim Senol, who met Kasikcioglu and his family through the Turkish Canadian Society of Edmonton.
“We’ve known it already within our community, but he’s also proven that during the fire ... That’s the kind of person he is, and I think it would mean a lot to him especially if he sees that Edmontonians are supporting him.”
Witnesses watched as Kasikcioglu, wearing his Maximo’s Pizza T-shirt, raced up the stairs, feeling his way through smoke-filled hallways while banging on doors to help tenants escape a fire that claimed one person’s life.
“He was pushing a lady in a wheelchair, he goes to the stairwell, and he immediately turns around on the stairwell and puts the wheelchair on his back,” said Brad Wilkinson at the scene of the fire. “It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.
“I think he was just trying to help as many people as he could, because right when we got to the bottom, he turned around and sprinted right back inside.”
Senol said while Kasikcioglu is too proud to admit it, he has suffered physically and emotionally from the fire. Even still, Senol said Kasikcioglu would never hesitate to help someone in need.
“Only one person died that day. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know if there would be others,” Senol said Monday.
Senol said on Wednesday, Kasikcioglu — a Turkish immigrant who came to Canada to provide a better life for his wife and two young children — suddenly felt nauseated and dizzy.
After going to the hospital, Senol said doctors diagnosed Kasikcioglu with a brain tumour.
“The kids are very scared,” said Senol, who said Kasikcioglu is still in hospital awaiting surgery.
Kasikcioglu is scared, too, said Senol, but not for himself.
Senol said Kasikcioglu has been running his business, Maximo’s Pizza and Donair at 11729 Jasper Ave., alone.
As long as he remains in hospital, the doors of the business will stay closed, meaning his family will have no income.
Senol said Kasikcioglu is most afraid for how he will support his family.
Even after the surgery, Senol said the doctors have warned him his recovery process could be long and he risks brain damage that could reduce his mobility on the left side of his body.
Kasikcioglu’s friends have started a fundraising campaign to help support his family during his recovery and are trying to organize volunteers to reopen his shop until he is able to return to work.
Only one person died that day. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know if there would be others.