A mum has issued an urgent warning to drivers who use mirrors in their cars after a fire scare. As she explained when she made her plea, the parent was horrified to discover smoke billowing out of her daughter's car seat during an outing.
Thankfully, her children weren't in the car at the time, and the Canadian mum discovered the fire in its early stages. Incredibly, she captured the incident on camera.
Mum Natasha Furlong shared the video on TikTok to warn other families. In her post as @morethanjustamother, she revealed: "I just opened my car door to put my daughter in her seat and her car seat is on fire."
Upset, Natasha then zoomed in to show the smoke and a reflected light, which she claimed caused the fire. Then, she panned the camera to show the infant mirror fitted on the headrest opposite the car seat, which she'd previously installed to keep an eye on her child while driving.
She also showed how the reflection disappeared from the car seat when she placed her hand between the two. In the shade, several holes were visible in the car seat.
"What the heck? Can you imagine if she was sitting in her seat?" her video concluded.
The caption added: "To all the parents out there, just be aware of how quickly this can happen. I'm so glad it didn't happen while my daughter was strapped in."
Her video has since received over a million views and thousands of comments from concerned social media users.
One person replied: "Oh my goodness!! I would have never thought of this happening!! Thank you so much for sharing!"
A second commented: "So glad we got a new car with rear video camera so we tossed out the mirror! So scary! Your daughter could have been in there while it was burning!"
Another parent revealed: "That's exactly why I removed the mirror that was in front of my 3 month olds seat. THIS exact scenario played in my head."
Elsewhere, someone advised: "I switched to a video car monitor when my son was little! They've been a lifesaver! Found mine on Amazon!"
The Mirror has reached out to AA for comment on car mirror safety with kids' seats.
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