BROCKTON, MASS. (WHDH) - The fire suppression system at a Brockton gas station went off without warning Wednesday morning, spraying snow-like fire retardant all over the parking lot.
Gas station manager Peter Yazbeck said the blast sent him running.
“I was in the inspection bay, all of the sudden I hear whoosh,” Yazbeck said. “The dust all over. The white dust.”
A security camera across the street captured the moment the pavement went from gray to white. One customer was pumping gas and became coated in the powder.
“I guess there was a car here, but he abandoned it,” Yazbeck said. “He ran.”
Police say the customer asked to be checked out and was taken to the hospital.
Yazbeck said he hopes the customer is okay, and that the powder is generally harmless.
The company that maintains the system said it is looking into why the system went off, speculating that the recent heavy rains in the area triggered the system in some way through an electrical short.
The company said the system is going to be ready to go, and if it ever goes off again it is only because it’s needed.
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