Soy-Based Fire Retardant Now in Use in Columbia

The Columbia Fire Department has announced that this month was the first that they used a new firefighting foam made mostly from soybeans.

According to Gale Bloomenkamp, Assistant Fire Chief with the Boone County Fire Protection District, the department is the first fire department in the state to receive the new firefighting foam.

It is gold star approved and biodegradeable.

Many fire departments nationwide have been phasing out the old formula of firefighting foam called Aqueous Film Forming Foam (or AFFF), because of the presence of PFAS, which increases the risk of cancer. However, the soybean foam is PFAS-Free and doesn’t carry the same risks.

Bloomenkamp said that they have already used the foam to battle several fires throughout July.