Science

..... landing. As I remember it, the fire department on base had a truck that could foam the runway before the plane approached to land.

Although I was not a member of the fire crew and had no direct involvement with the foam and its source, I was a medic who would respond to the flight line to offer medical care if necessary.

We were told it was based on organic material from slaughterhouses. It definitely had an obnoxious smell.

Any former airport fire personnel in the DU audience to confirm or refute my memories of the foam?

The scene in this video of people wading chest-deep in this foam was precisely what I remember seeing on those rare occasions that I would see this on a runway.