By Bruce Rolfe
A retired fire chief who resides in Climax is following through with a passion he developed following a bout with cancer he hopes will help make firefighting safer, supports the agriculture industry and is safe for the environment.
Pat Butler, who served in firefighting service 34 years including the last 18 years as a full time Deputy Chief of Operations on the Kalamazoo Township Fire Department, is a dealer selling soy bean based firefighting foam under his company name, PK Foam Solutions.
Butler, who was exposed to Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) while using Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) as a firefighter, was diagnosed with bladder cancer three years ago. While he is not certain exposure to AFFF while he was a firefighter caused the bladder cancer, he became interested in finding an alternative.
Cross Plains Solutions released Soy Foam TF 1122, which is bio-based and bio-degradable.
“When I was on the job working with the township as the Fire Chief and I was in charge of all the training, I wallowed in this AFFF with the PFAS in it in training and at the fire department. I don’t know if it caused the cancer or not, but it’s one those (cancers) that it does cause,” said Butler.
Butler, who has been a National Fire Academy contract instructor for 30 years and still teaches fire incident management nationwide, said he learned about the soy foam product when he was teaching a class in South Dakota. He became interested and became a dealer, hoping he could help firefighters, the agriculture community and the environment.
“Being involved in farming, I’m MAEAP (Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program) Certified, I look out for the environment,” continued the Climax man.
Butler, who currently farms in Leroy Township, says the product he sells offers fire departments and farmers a sustainable, effective, and environmentally responsible option.
He said the product is 100 percent biodegradable, non-toxic, and completely PFAS and flourine free. He adds the only firefighting foam GreenScreen Certified® at the Gold level; supports U.S. soybean farmers; is safe for people, animals, and aquatic life; environmentally safe with no corrosive properties and no harmful residues; is compatible with existing equipment, including educators and 2 1/2 gallon extinguishers and is mixable at 1% or 3% depending on the fire class.
Every 55-gallon drum of soy foam TF 122 contains 2.5 bushels of soy beans.
Butler adds the product meets NFPA 18 standards as an approved wetting agent effective on Class A fires which are normal combustibles, and Class B fires, which contain hydrocarbons.
Butler adds the product has a 10-year shelf life unopened. Once the product is mixed with water and put in an extinguisher it remains effective approximately 120 days. The soy bean based foam product functions at temperatures down to 20ºF and can be thawed and reused if frozen.
Butler said the product costs approximately $179 per five-gallon drum, which is similar to the cost of the AFFF product that contains PFAs.
Michigan law prohibits using AFFF (Aqueous Film Forming Foam) with PFAS for training and testing and restricted its sale and distribution starting in January 2025. For actual fires, the use of PFAS-containing Class B AFFF is allowed only for life safety emergencies like aircraft or industrial plant fires involving alcohol-based products.
A retired fire chief who resides in Climax is following through with a passion he developed following a bout with cancer he hopes will help make firefighting safer, supports the agriculture industry and is safe for the environment.
Pat Butler, who served in firefighting service 34 years including the last 18 years as a full time Deputy Chief of Operations on the Kalamazoo Township Fire Department, is a dealer selling soy bean based firefighting foam under his company name, PK Foam Solutions.
Butler, who was exposed to Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) while using Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) as a firefighter, was diagnosed with bladder cancer three years ago. While he is not certain exposure to AFFF while he was a firefighter caused the bladder cancer, he became interested in finding an alternative.
Cross Plains Solutions released Soy Foam TF 1122, which is bio-based and bio-degradable.
“When I was on the job working with the township as the Fire Chief and I was in charge of all the training, I wallowed in this AFFF with the PFAS in it in training and at the fire department. I don’t know if it caused the cancer or not, but it’s one those (cancers) that it does cause,” said Butler.
Butler, who has been a National Fire Academy contract instructor for 30 years and still teaches fire incident management nationwide, said he learned about the soy foam product when he was teaching a class in South Dakota. He became interested and became a dealer, hoping he could help firefighters, the agriculture community and the environment.
“Being involved in farming, I’m MAEAP (Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program) Certified, I look out for the environment,” continued the Climax man.
Butler, who currently farms in Leroy Township, says the product he sells offers fire departments and farmers a sustainable, effective, and environmentally responsible option.
He said the product is 100 percent biodegradable, non-toxic, and completely PFAS and flourine free. He adds the only firefighting foam GreenScreen Certified® at the Gold level; supports U.S. soybean farmers; is safe for people, animals, and aquatic life; environmentally safe with no corrosive properties and no harmful residues; is compatible with existing equipment, including educators and 2 1/2 gallon extinguishers and is mixable at 1% or 3% depending on the fire class.
Every 55-gallon drum of soy foam TF 122 contains 2.5 bushels of soy beans.
Butler adds the product meets NFPA 18 standards as an approved wetting agent effective on Class A fires which are normal combustibles, and Class B fires, which contain hydrocarbons.
Butler adds the product has a 10-year shelf life unopened. Once the product is mixed with water and put in an extinguisher it remains effective approximately 120 days. The soy bean based foam product functions at temperatures down to 20ºF and can be thawed and reused if frozen.
Butler said the product costs approximately $179 per five-gallon drum, which is similar to the cost of the AFFF product that contains PFAs.
Michigan law prohibits using AFFF (Aqueous Film Forming Foam) with PFAS for training and testing and restricted its sale and distribution starting in January 2025. For actual fires, the use of PFAS-containing Class B AFFF is allowed only for life safety emergencies like aircraft or industrial plant fires involving alcohol-based products.
Farmers can use the soy bean based foam Pat Butler sells in extinguishers. Butler is pictured applying the soy based foam on a wood crate.
Butler said some fire departments like Pavilion Township, have purchased the product, however others have hesitated because of cost associated with cleaning equipment after the product is used.
“You take the old stuff out, then you have to rinse it out and test it. And then you’ve got to buy new and what do we do with the old stuff,” explained Butler.
Butler said Michigan fire departments in Caro, Interlochen and Fredonia Township near Marshall, also use the foam.
He said farmers have embraced the product because “we don’t contaminate our ground, it helps the soy bean farmers and it’s safe for our firefighters.”
“It’s mainly for fire departments, but the farmers are buying it and putting it in their extinguishers on their combines,” adds the Climax man.
He said when the foam is applied, it soaks into the material and becomes a wetting agent, so the material can’t burn or rekindle.
“There’s absolutely no contamination when you use it. It just goes away. It biodegrades,” said Butler.
For additional information on the product contact Butler at 269-491-1035, or email pbutler891@aol.com.
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