There are known risks to firefighting, and yet people still volunteer.  

The commitment these firefighters have to keeping their community safe and themselves through the mantra “safety first, always” is better demonstrated today than ever before. 

“The improvements coming out are all based on firefighter safety, which is huge,” said Matthew Grave, deputy fire chief of the Willmar Fire Department. “We’re out there, putting our lives on the line to help people, we always say we’re firefighters, we’re there for everybody on their worst day trying to help them.” 

Grave has served in the fire service for over 25 years and continues to lead in trainings and in his community. 

Growing into his own bunker gear 

Firefighting is a Grave family affair.  

“Growing up, my dad was on the fire department, for 25 years, so I grew up kind of part of the fire service,” Grave said. “You hear people talk about how firefighting, especially when as a volunteer, paid on-call, it’s a family thing. You’re kind of a big family. I grew up around the fire service. I really got to enjoy what they call the ‘Brotherhood,’ that tight connection that they have, that we have as firefighters.” 

Gary Grave, Matthew’s father, served on the Redwood Falls Fire Department and was the training officer at the time his son joined the same department. 

Matthew often found himself tagging along to the fire station as a young kid, when his father’s pager went off. He later participated in fire training, experiences that pointed him toward pursuing fire service.  

Grave served with the Redwood Falls Fire Department for just over 20 years, including five years as chief. Grave moved to Willmar to start as an on-call firefighter before transitioning to his current role. He is the department’s first deputy chief.  

A special moment for Grave was completing his first live fire training, which his father attended. He said it’s exciting to share firefighting connections with his father and now his own son, Joel.  

“I’m a second-generation firefighter, and I was able to serve with my dad, which was kind of an awesome thing to have served beside my dad, in the fire service,” Grave said. “My son is a firefighter in Montrose, Minnesota, so we are now in the third generation of firefighters in our family. So that’s kind of cool, too.” 

Since starting his career, Grave has been involved in various aspects of the fire department. He is the definition of “Jack-of-all-trades,” with his long resume of positions within the fire service. He’s served as a regular firefighter, training officer, an assistant chief, chief and deputy chief. 

Grave also serves as the regional director on the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs board of directors for the lake region in Minnesota. He kept learning and received his associates of science degree in fire science through Columbia Southern University. He also earned his certification for fire instruction through the state of Minnesota and has been an instructor since 2013. He teaches both hands-on and classroom training at local technical colleges.  

Harvesting a solution 

Over the past quarter-century of his career, most of the fire service improvements have been with firefighting safety in mind, with equipment including better and more protective turnout gear, breathing apparatuses, SoyFoam and more.  

SoyFoam is made with soymeal and is one more use for the product grown in Minnesota and the U.S.  

Grave recalled about three years ago, the federal and state governments outlawed PFAS, aka forever chemicals, found in Class B foam, due to the potential cancer-causing forever chemicals. Class B foam is designed for flammable liquid fires and is meant to smother out the flames.  

SoyFoam is a solution created by Cross Plains Solutions and covers Class A and B fires. This also means fire departments only need to carry one foam instead of two separate foams.  

“We can’t take all the hazards out of our job,” Grave said. “But over the years, the technology that’s out there and the training that’s out there, it has improved firefighter health immensely, and it’s just going to keep getting better.” 

Grave has been a part of the trainings testing SoyFoam for the last year. He first attended a 2024 demonstration hosted by Cross Plains Solutions in Dalton, Ga.   

The United Soybean Board began investing checkoff dollars into this concept in October 2022, and MSR&PC has continued with checkoff support of SoyFoam.  

This summer, MSR&PC is utilizing checkoff funds for Minnesota soybean farmers to give back to their local fire departments and community through donations of SoyFoam through its Planting to Protect campaign.  

“Growing up in rural Minnesota and having countless friends that are in the farming industry. It’s kind of neat to see a product that’s grown all around us helping the firefighters within these same communities,” Grave said. “It’s something that comes from the farmers’ fields, and it’s right here in our fire trucks now to help protect those same family farmers.”