On a hot day, a blizzard of foam at a gas station

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

A wintry scene on Washington Street.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

It's a blistering hot day, but a gas station on the Boston-Dedham line looks like a winter wonderland after the system used to extinguish fires accidentally discharged white powder over the entire property.

"The place looks like it was snowing out. The ground is completely in white and all the cars have white dust over them, and the people who were at the pumps got covered also," said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

The incident took place at King Petroleum. It was not immediately clear why the system, which is governed by a temperature gauge, dispensed the powder, which is chemically similar to baking soda.

The nine people who got covered were cleaned off. Three of them were taken to an area hospital to get checked out, MacDonald said.

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