The fire suppression system protecting the fuel pumps at the Irving gas station on Townsend Avenue was set off by an electrical malfunction around 1 a.m. on July 12, according to Irving employees. White powder covered the lot and several used cars at the neighboring Hawke Motors. Cleanup crews were on scene early in the morning to clean up the mess.

As of 1 p.m., a crew from Interstate Fire Protection was in the process of fixing the problem. Four of the eight fueling pumps were able to be used while the middle bay of pumps was off limits while work was being done.

“I came in this morning and saw the black tow truck covered in white. A guy from the clean-up crew came over and offered to clean off the cars, which he did,” said Hawke Motors employee Alan Williams.