NYPD Lieutenant Dies of 9/11-Related Cancer at 51

NYPD Lt. Marci Simms died Thursday at her home in Commack more than a year after being diagnosed with lung cancer. She was 51, reports Newsday .

Retired NYPD Sgt. Glenn Amico, a close friend, hopes Simms becomes the face of the fight to keep the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act from expiring in 2016.

She spent 4 1/2 months at Ground Zero helping search the rubble after the terror attacks.

"Her throat was burning; her eyes were burning," said Fosco, who vows to continue Simms' fight to renew the Zadroga Act.

Simms is survived by her husband, mother, and siblings.