Woman Forgets To Put Away Her Mirror, Comes Home To Horrifying Scene

Kasey Ault was doing her makeup in front of her window and forgot to put away her mirror in her desk before leaving the house. What she came home to left her "feeling shaken."

In a Facebook post from Dec. 1, 2015, Ault shares a valuable life lesson. According to the post, this salon coordinator uses her desk as a makeshift vanity table, and forgot to keep her mirror away from her window. This seemingly insignificant detail nearly ended in tragedy.

Ault recalls, "I just came home to a house full of smoke and found clear evidence of a fire on my desk." She shares photos of the aftermath on her page — including the charred remains of what appears to be a pouch or notebook — and in a response to comments says, "Scariest thing to ever happen to me by far." She also describes her emotional state as "feeling shaken."

While the images are indeed alarming, the repercussions of leaving her mirror in direct sunlight could have been potentially fatal. Ault reflects upon what could have happened in her post, writing, "I'm extremely lucky the fire didn't reach the battery of my iPad, my wooden desk, my laundry basket next to my desk. It miraculously was somehow contained. I had my sweet chihuahua asleep in that room, along with my other 3 dogs and 5 cats in the house. I could have lost them all."

This incident may seem like a freak accident, but it happens more frequently than you might think.

The BBC reported on two fires in England that occurred within three weeks of each other, both apparently caused by mirrors. When asked about these two fires and the resulting property damage, Tregear Thomas of Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) told reporters, "I would encourage people to make sure reflective items such as mirrors are not placed in direct view of sunlight in the home -- particularly in these winter months." WTOP also traced the cause of a fire in Fairfax County, Virginia, to a makeup mirror and reported that the incident landed one person in the hospital and resulted in approximately $1,250 in damage.