The best testimonial one can get for a new product is from folks who actually use it. In the case of a pair of recent fire trainings in northern Minnesota, the proof is in the pudding for SoyFoam, or the facts are in the fire…or lack thereof.

“(SoyFoam) did everything it was supposed to do,” said Rick Loveland, fire program manager for Minnesota State Technical Community and Technical College. “Actually, for what we were trying to do, it worked too well.”

Made with soy flour, SoyFoam is the first and only Greenscreen Certified Gold Fire Foam with zero intentionally added PFAS, aka forever chemicals. Cross Plains Solutions, the developer of SoyFoam, has been in lockstep with the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council to continue testing and promoting the soy checkoff-supported product as a safer alternative to traditional firefighting foam.

Loveland had the opportunity to try out SoyFoam firsthand during two controlled burns this spring in northern Minnesota, one near Ada and another in Warroad. He first heard about the PFAS-free, biodegradable, soy-based firefighting foam after MSR&PC Director Corey Hanson presented on SoyFoam at a regional firefighter meeting in March.

“We were lucky enough to be invited to come speak about SoyFoam in front of about 80 firefighters from all around the region, some of which had heard about SoyFoam and some who hadn’t, but they were all very interested and excited to get their hands on some, said Hanson, who represents the northern third of Minnesota as the Council’s District 1, 2 & 3 director. “They asked about getting a bucket for an upcoming house burn and training and we were happy to oblige.”

The first controlled house burn took place north of Ada with departments from across Norman County and parts of Polk County participating. The purpose of a controlled burn is to allow fire fighters the opportunity to practice putting out fires and going inside a real structure with a real fire. Once the training exercises were done and the structure was fully ablaze, the Ada Fire Department fired up the foam to see what it could do.

“I was very impressed with how much foam it produced, especially considering we were running at it a pretty conservative rate,” said Ada Fire Chief Glen Visser. “It worked very well as a wetting agent around the house, and we also sprayed on some on the siding, and where we sprayed was the last part of the house to burn up, so it was impressive to see how well how it worked.”

The firefighters also practiced putting out the blaze with the SoyFoam and were successful, but because it was a house burn, the trainees had to back off on the foam so that the structure would finish burning – hence why Loveland remarked that SoyFoam was almost too effective. Loveland added that just being able to train with a foam again is a welcome change.

“It’s nice to have an option, because we can use the old foams for emergency situations, but if we can’t train with it beforehand it seems like we aren’t doing as good of a job using it when the emergency occurs,” Loveland said.. “This product will give us the opportunity to go back to training with foam ahead of time, and use it the way we’re supposed to when we’re called to a fire.”

Training day

The training exercise near Ada had about a half dozen different departments represented. The Warroad training, held in an old hotel, had even more agencies participating, including many local fire departments from northern Minnesota, the state fire marshal’s office, ATF, Border Patrol and private companies. With all the rooms being nearly identical, the abandoned hotel provided ample training opportunities for trainers to replicate exercises but also change variables in similar environments.

“When we used SoyFoam in one of the rooms. … (it had) unbelievable foam blanket, and when we came back 30-45 minutes later, that blanket was still there, so it was good for us to actually see that and that it worked like it was supposed to do,” Loveland said. “The state fire marshal’s office really wanted to see what it could do and get some data, so for MSR&PC and Corey Hanson to come through like that in short notice was very much appreciated.”

Hundreds more fire departments across the state will soon have their hands on SoyFoam as local county soybean organizations will be distributing pails of the products as part of MSR&PC’s Planting to Protect: From Farm to Flame.” Each organized soybean county organization will be given the opportunity to donate five pails to fire departments in their respective county.

“We’ve put soybeans in your tires and now we’re using it to put out fires,” said Hanson. “Through our county program we’ve done a lot to support our farmers and also our first responders, with campaigns such as soy-based tires for law enforcement, soy-based shoes for first responders and frontline workers, and now soy-based firefighting foam for our firefighters.”

Now that they’ve had some firsthand experience in using SoyFoam, fire departments from communities such as Ada, Warroad and many others are looking forward to charging up their foam system with this new environmentally friendly and life-saving product.

“We’re excited to use SoyFoam and support our local farmers, but also because it’s biodegradable and PFAS free, so it’s safe for our firefighters,” Visser said. “I’m thankful to the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council for providing us the opportunity and I’m looking forward to using it more in the future.”