My baby's car seat nearly caught fire — you won't believe why

Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission.

Don't let safety take the back seat, this mom warns.

A baffled woman shared the terrifying moment she realized her child's rear-facing car seat was burning up — thankfully, without her kid in it — after the back seat mirror reflected harsh sunlight onto the fabric, she alleges.

Natausha Furlong posted a clip to TikTok that's scored 1 million views to caution parents about the kind of mirror they might use while driving to keep an eye on their kids in car seats.

"I’m so glad that my daughter was not hurt, and that I was able to record a video and share it with other parents to warn them of this risk," she told The Post. "It takes a village and a huge support system to raise kids and I am glad I could be part of supporting other parents in keeping their kids safe."

In the TikTok video, she urged fellow parents to watch the clip in its entirety.

"If you have a car seat, you need to watch this, because I didn't even know this was a thing until it literally just happened — and it could have been so much worse," the Canadian said before showing the seat in the video.

A trail of smoke swirled from a patch of the car seat's upholstery where a harsh sunbeam had smoldered the fabric.

The content creator had just opened the door to the back seat to buckle her daughter into the seat when she saw the smoke, saying her "car seat is on fire from the heat."

"Oh my God, is this even real life?" exclaimed Furlong. "What the f–k — it's, like, legit smoking."

"I instantly started to search for the source of the smoke with the help of my 9-year-old son," Furlong told The Post. "We quickly realized that the smoke was coming from the car seat."

Unable to locate the culprit at first, it wasn't until her son pointed out the backseat mirror that she realized what could be burning the fabric.

"I couldn't imagine what could had caused the car seat to smoke until my son pointed out that sunlight from a mirror facing the car seat was reflecting onto the car seat," she continued. "When I removed the mirror, the car seat stopped smoking."

In the video, she blocked the light with her hand and showed the burned spot in the car seat, where the black fabric on the Diono seat was frayed and crisp.

"Could you imagine if she was sitting in her seat?" she concluded the clip, referencing her daughter.

In the caption, she urged parents to "be aware of how quickly this can happen."

Users in the comments were divided over the so-called danger. Some thought it was fake, while others couldn't believe Furlong's kid figured it out first — but many were just as terrified as Furlong.

"The fact a 9 year old can figure this out but not you," one person snarked.

"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," another wrote.

"New fear unlocked," someone else commented.

"Hey there I know the mirror is to let you see baby," one user wrote, "look into a car seat camera … it's amazing."

"People are rude! Thanks for sharing bc a lot of parents have these mirrors and how scary if that happens when you’re driving!" another said.

In a later clip, she recorded herself tossing out the backseat mirror and stomping on it.

"I recorded a video of the smoking car seat so I could share what happened to me with other parents," Furlong told The Post, adding that she's opted for a backseat camera after trashing the mirror. "A ton of wonderful, helpful and kind parents who saw the video have reached out to me with alternative product suggestions that would let me keep an eye on my daughter when she's in the rear-facing car seat."

Parents often use mirrors to see their rear-facing child in the backseat for a "sense of security," Furlong said. But now, she recommends finding an alternative.

"So many kids fall asleep in their car seats and I really worry that they could be injured if the light reflected by a mirror is bright enough or hot enough," she added.

According to Furlong, Diono allegedly offered to replace the scorched car seat cover free of charge, but the mom claimed that she has yet to hear back from Evenflo, the mirror manufacturer.

This phenomenon is not reserved for just cars — reflective surfaces have started fires in homes, too.

Last year, a woman shared a video of her brown leather couch smoking while soaking up harsh sunlight in her home.

In a subsequent clip, she shared that her two-sided makeup mirror — which has one magnified side and one non-magnified side — nearly incinerated her sofa.

"I was today years old when I learnt how house fires can start," she captioned the first video.