Foundation honoring firefighter killed on 9/11 to pay off slain NYC police officers' mortgages

Maritza Ramos, left, and Pei Xia Chen, widows of slain New York City Police Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, receive checks from the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015, in New York. The foundation says $860,000 has been donated and another $150,000 has been pledged to pay off the mortgages of Officers Liu and Ramos, who were killed in December while on duty in Brooklyn. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) (The Associated Press)

Pei Xia Chen, center, widow of slain New York City Police Officer Wenjian Liu, stands next to Liu's parents, Xiu Yan Li, left, and Wei Tang Liu, during a news conference at the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015, in New York. The foundation says $860,000 has been donated and another $150,000 has been pledged to pay off the mortgages of Wenjian Liu and Detective Rafael Ramos, who were killed in December while on duty in Brooklyn. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) (The Associated Press)

NEW YORK – A foundation created to honor a firefighter killed on Sept. 11 has raised enough money to pay off the mortgages of two slain New York Police Department officers.

The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation says $860,000 has been donated, and another $150,000 has been pledged.

Foundation officials made the announcement Wednesday at an event with the widows of Detective Rafael Ramos (rah-fy-EHL' RAH'-mohs) and Wenjian Liu (WEHN'-jihn LOO').

Liu's widow and Ramos' sister expressed their appreciation. The crowd was made up largely of police officers, including members of the men's precinct.

The foundation says the money will be used to pay off mortgages and make repairs to the homes, with any extra going to the two families.