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Robert De Niro's wife Grace Hightower has been honoured by the Fire Department of New York five months after firefighters extinguished a blaze at their home.
The Precious actress was named honourary battalion chief in a formal ceremony conducted by Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano on Thursday, according to the New York Post.
Grace, 57, will raise awareness about fire safety and prevention as part of her role.
She will also help to raise funding for the FDNY Foundation, a non-profit "established to promote Fire Safety in New York City and fund professional development, training, and education programs for members of the FDNY," according to its website.
Grace and her husband paid tribute to New York City firefighters late last month after a blaze erupted at their apartment on the city's posh Central Park West district.
The couple reportedly stopped by their local station to thank the team who put out the June fire and treated them to lunch at the actor's downtown restaurant the Tribeca Grill.
Robert and Grace first met in 1987 in London. The couple married ten years later and share two children, a 14-year-old son, Elliott, and a daughter, born via surrogate late last year.
Grace is Robert's second wife.
The 69-year-old Academy Award-winning actor has six children in total.
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