1Honoring the lives and memory of those tragically killed during
2a building collapse at 22nd and Market Streets in
3Philadelphia on June 5, 2013, expressing condolences to their
4families and concern for those injured in the incident and
5thanking all emergency workers, first responders and
6volunteers for their service at the site.

7WHEREAS, Six people tragically and sadly died in Philadelphia
8on June 5, 2013, when a four-story building collapsed during
9demolition work onto a two-story building housing a Salvation
10Army Thrift Store; and

11WHEREAS, Thirteen other people sustained injuries from the
12collapse; and

13WHEREAS, Those killed and injured in the tragedy all were
14shopping or working inside the store at the time of the

1collapse; and

2WHEREAS, Those who lost their lives in the tragedy include:

3Anne Bryan, daughter of Philadelphia City Treasurer
4Nancy Winkler and a student at the Pennsylvania Academy
5of Fine Arts. Anne's family described her in reports as
6"an extremely talented artist," who "possessed a passion
7for the arts and ability to find beauty in everything
8around her." Anne graduated from the William Penn Charter
9School in 2007 and majored in painting at the Academy.
10She had attended Scripps College, did a home stay in
11rural Ecuador, spoke fluent Spanish, volunteered with
12Habitat for Humanity and at the Philadelphia Museum of
13Art and moonlighted as a vegetarian cook.

14Roseline Conteh, an immigrant from Sierra Leone and a
15mother who had nine children and three grandchildren. She
16had moved to Philadelphia ten years ago. She served as a
17certified nurse's assistant and worked at Broomall
18Presbyterian Village and Villa St. Joseph in Darby
19Borough, according to reports. A family member had
20described Roseline as "very caring, hard-working, always
21smiling."

22Borbor Davis, who worked at the Salvation Army Thrift
23Store for five years. His wife, according to reports,
24said the Liberian immigrant who came to the United States
25eight years ago did a variety of jobs at the store, from
26"tagging used clothes to selling them." His wife said he
27had just hung up the phone after talking with her just
28before the collapse happened. She further described him
29as "kind and polite" and "very loving." She further said
30that he was "a Christian," who "loved everybody," "never

1missed a day" at his job and had built up 160 sick days
2"because he didn't take any." Borbor attended Faith-
3Immanuel Lutheran Church in East Lansdowne.

4Kimberly Finnegan, a Salvation Army employee, who,
5according to reports, was working her first day at the
6Salvation Army Thrift Store as a cashier. She had just
7become engaged to her fiancé, Bob Coleman, after his May
825 proposal. He said, "She was my best friend." Finnegan
9had previously been assigned to a Salvation Army
10rehabilitation center on Ridge Avenue in Roxborough.

11Juanita Harmon, who, according to reports, was a
12retired secretary from the University of Pennsylvania and
13often took her grandchildren to the zoo. Her brother
14described Juanita as someone who loved ornaments and went
15to the Salvation Army every Wednesday because "she loved
16bargains." She is survived by two sons and their
17families. Neighbors had described how Juanita walked her
18dog on the block nearly every day.

19Mary Simpson, a friend of Anne Bryan, who accompanied
20Ms. Bryan to the thrift store. Reports described Mary as
21an accomplished figure skater. She graduated from
22Haverford High School and in 2011 graduated from the New
23England Institute of Art with a bachelor's degree in
24audio media technology. She free-lanced at a recording
25studio and skated at the Philadelphia Skating Club in
26Ardmore. According to reports, Mary and Anne had met in
27the third grade at the Friends School in Haverford. Mary
28and Anne stopped at the store to donate clothes and to
29spend some time doing one of their favorite activities,
30thrift store shopping; and

1WHEREAS, Those identified by the City of Philadelphia as
2injured in the collapse include: Margarita Agosta, Shirley Ball,
3Linda Bell, Betty Brown, Rodney Geddis, Felicia Hill, Daniel
4Johnson, Rosemary Kreutzberg, Myra Plekan, Susan Randall,
5Jennifer Reynolds, Richard Stasiorowski and Nadine White; and

6WHEREAS, The sudden and senseless nature of the deaths and
7injuries and the extensive damage caused by the disaster to a
8neighborhood and community are shocking and sad to the
9survivors, witnesses, first responders and emergency workers and
10to observers near and far; and

11WHEREAS, Those who responded to the collapse gave aid to
12those who perished or were injured first and performed an
13outstanding job in handling the unexpected and catastrophic
14event; and

15WHEREAS, Their efforts provided a measure of care and comfort
16to those affected by the tragedy; therefore be it

17RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the lives
18and memory of Anne Bryan, Roseline Conteh, Borbor Davis,
19Kimberly Finnegan, Juanita Harmon and Mary Simpson and express
20condolences to their families, friends and loved ones and
21concern for the 13 people injured in the disaster; and be it
22further

23RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives thank, and salute
24the outstanding response of, all first responders, emergency
25personnel, volunteers and others who provided assistance at the
26scene for the honorable, caring and compassionate work and
27service they provided in the aftermath of the disaster under
28unanticipated and difficult circumstances; and be it further

29RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives support the
30various investigations into the collapse and urge all those

1involved to consider any and all scenarios and circumstances
2that could have prevented such a tragedy and request that
3relevant information be shared and reported to the appropriate
4committees in the House of Representatives for action to prevent
5similar tragedies from occurring in the future.