New York- The firefighter at the center of the FDNY sex scandal was held up as a hero after the terror attacks – and rewarded by city tourism officials with a free vacation to a beach resort, the Daily News has learned.

Firefighter Tony DeLuca and his wife jetted to Virginia Beach six months after the terror attacks as part of a push by NYC & Company to give weary firefighters a respite and increase interest in New York tourism.

For three days, DeLuca was the face of the city’s Bravest.

Virginia Beach firefighters met him and his wife at the airport and whisked them to their complimentary room at an oceanfront hotel on March 1, 2002, officials said yesterday.

He attended at a private reception with Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf and took a behind-the-scenes tour of the city’s science museum.

Virginia Beach even gave him a commemorative crystal starfish – a local honor bestowed on visiting dignitaries.

Threatened with perjury charges, DeLuca, 34, admitted last week that he had sex with a mentally unstable woman at Engine 75/Ladder 33 while on duty on Aug. 20, sources said.

He also told investigators that Firefighters Christian Waugh, 30, and Anthony Loscuito, 27, had sex with the woman in the firehouse, known as the Animal House, sources said.

The 34-year-old woman first told cops she was gang-raped, only to say later she had consensual sex with the men after meeting DeLuca through an Internet chat room.

She then returned to her rape story and checked herself into a psychiatric ward for a week.

FDNY brass have pledged to fire everyone involved in the sexcapades. The investigation was ongoing yesterday. No criminal charges have been filed.

In the days before DeLuca’s visit to Virginia Beach, officials put out a glowing press release saying they were “honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to host the DeLucas and thank them for the heroic efforts of the entire New York City Fire Department.”

“His visit was arranged through the U.S. Conference of Mayors and a City of New York tourism program,” said Chief Tom Poulin, a spokesman for the Virginia Beach Fire Department. “It was pretty much a PR tour.”

NYC & Company did not respond to a request for comment. But Virginia Beach officials said the resort town was one of more than 300 cities that participated in the post-9/11 program.