Key Points
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There are two reasons Steve Reinhard is in favor of using SoyFoam as a fire repellent.
First, the soybean farmer and Crawford County Farm Bureau member sees the product as a viable market for his crop. Second, as a volunteer firefighter, he has witnessed firsthand the effectiveness of it when battling a blaze.
“It’s a reliable product,” he said.
Colt Cline, assistant fire chief in Harrison Township in Pickaway County, participated in a SoyFoam demonstration and also said he was impressed at how quickly the staged fires were extinguished.
“It does seem to be safe,” he said. “It worked wonderfully.”
The product they are referring to is called SoyFoam by Cross Plains Solutions, which is based in Georgia. The company is in partnership with the United Soybean Board, the national soybean checkoff program, to expose more fire departments across the country to the product.
Earlier this year, a demonstration of the product was hosted by Delaware, Franklin, Madison and Union County Farm Bureaus in conjunction with the Ohio Soybean Council.
Cline’s fire department is among many considering the PFAS-free SoyFoam product aimed at providing more safety for firefighters.
In an effort to support the switch to a new foam, the Ohio Soybean Council recently announced a program offering Ohio fire departments reimbursement for 50% of the purchase cost, up to $1,000 per department, to help departments purchase the foam.
SoyFoam works like traditional firefighting foam that quickly smothers a fire. The difference is the absence of PFAS substances that feature strong carbon bonds, or “forever chemicals,” that don’t degrade naturally.
A 2025 study by the American Cancer Society showed that for skin cancer, the mortality rate for firefighters was 58% higher than nonfirefighters. For kidney cancer, the rate of death from the disease was 40% higher.
“Not only does SoyFoam create a safer product for firefighters and the environment, it opens a new market for U.S. soybean farmers,” said Madi Corbi, director of demand and market development for the Ohio Soybean Council.
Corbi said there’s a potential 12 million bushels of soybeans to come to market because of Cross Plains Solutions, as soybean farmers are investing in new markets for U.S. soy, including the bioproducts market.
While SoyFoam is making the rounds at firehouses, farmers such as Reinhard are encouraged by the crop’s multiple uses. He rattles off soybean meal and soybean oil among byproducts that have worked their way into the marketplace for use in consumer goods such as shoes, tires and diesel fuel.
“We have 12 million bushels of soybeans,” Reinhard said. “It’s always good when we can use our own product.”
What’s Next
Funding for the Soy-Based Firefighting Foam Reimbursement Program is available on a first-come, first-served basis, with one application per department each year.
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