FDNY Lt. Edith Torres was off-duty on Sept. 11, 2001, but when a pair of jet planes smashed into the Twin Towers, she responded anyway -- running toward danger as thousands of people fled.

Torres died last February at 46 years old after a diagnosis of cervical cancer. Her brother, Jose Torres, says it was a 9/11-related illness, directly linked to the time she spent in rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero.

Today, the department dedicated a plaque in her honor at FDNY Headquarters.

Edith Torres spent 23 years with the FDNY, beginning as a paramedic and becoming a lieutenant in 2005. Her former partner at Station 9 in Astoria, Carlo Lelo, was one of the 343 FDNY members killed on Sept. 11.