When a fire broke out at a home near the Mississippi River in central Minnesota this spring, firefighters from St. Stephen Fire & Rescue relied on a newer tool in their response efforts: Cross Plains Solutions’ soy-based firefighting foam SoyFoam™.
On April 21, 2026, crews responded to a significant residential structure fire in Brockway Township, Minnesota. When firefighters arrived, the attached garage was fully ingulfed, and flames had already spread into the second floor and attic of the home. Fire Chief Jeff Drais noted that the lightweight construction of the home allowed the fire to spread quickly. But SoyFoam™ helped make the difference.
“We began transitioning to SoyFoam™ after learning about the product at the Minnesota Fire Chiefs Conference in Duluth in 2024,” said Chief Drais. “The idea of a soy-based Class A foam alternative sounded like a good fit for our department, especially since it was designed to biodegrade naturally while still working like the foam products firefighters are used to using.”
Over the past two years, the department has gradually transitioned from traditional Class A foam products to SoyFoam™ across its apparatus, including engines and grass rigs used for both structure and wildland fire response.
According to Drais, the foam performed as hoped during the Brockway Township fire.
“This was the first major structure fire where we had the opportunity to extensively use SoyFoam™ under heavy fire conditions, and it performed exactly how we hoped it would,” noted Drais.
“The foam provided good knockdown and helped penetrate into hot spots and deep-seated embers during overhaul operations,” Drais said. “In our opinion, it worked as well as, and possibly even better than, the Class A foam products we had previously used.”
The environmental aspect of the product also stood out during the response. Because the home was located near the Mississippi River, minimizing environmental impact was an important consideration throughout the incident. During clean-up operations, homeowners observed the soy-based foam being used and appreciated learning that the product was designed to biodegrade naturally.
Located between Rice and Sartell in central Minnesota, St. Stephen Fire & Rescue serves communities northwest of St. Cloud and regularly responds to both structure and wildland fire incidents. They will continue to rely on SoyFoam™ in their fire response operations.
Powered by the Soy Checkoff, the United Soybean Board supported the development of SoyFoam™.