A COUPLE have warned how a household item that everyone owns is to blame for their house going up in flames.
After the Kent residents saw their bedroom catch on fire they wanted to warn others about the source of the blaze that they never would have suspected.
Kent Fire and Rescue service believe they have got to the root of the cause that stunned married couple Sam and Michael Wilkinson.
The Rochester couple have been told to keep shiny objects away from the window after their vanity mirror started a house fire.
A fire started in St Margaret’s Banks on July 18th after sunlight bounced off a vanity mirror and onto the pairs bedroom curtains.
The two residents, who met on a dating app six years ago, were home at the time of the fire and were alerted to the danger by their sounding smoke alarm.
Gym owner Michael, 37, said: “I was working in the office, which is directly under the room which caught fire, and I could smell burning, sort of like burnt toast.
“I checked my fan to see if it was overheating, went downstairs to see if anyone was cooking, and then I heard the smoke alarm on the top floor go off.
“I ran upstairs in a panic, screamed for Sam to wake up.
“We got out as quickly as we could and called 999 for the fire service.”
Two fire engines were sent to the scene and crews used hose reel jets to extinguish the flames on the third floor.
Crews also managed to rescue Tigger, the family cat.
While many items in the bedroom were destroyed, the fire was largely contained because the door was closed – limiting damage to the rest of the property.
Photos of the aftermath show the damage the fire caused, including melting their TV and blackening the freshly painted walls.
Fire and rescue services are regularly called out to fires that have been started by mirrors.
The objects are seemingly fine until sunlight reflects off of them.
This causes the sunlight to become concentrated meaning that if the rays are bounced onto something flammable such as soft furnishings then a fire can be started.
Many people will recognise a similar principle as using a magnifying glass.
Registered nurse Sam, 48, said: “We’d only just redecorated the room a few days before, so we weren’t sure what caused it.
“When the firefighters told us it was the mirror, we thought how can a mirror do that? It’s not something you think of.
“Now we know anything reflective or shiny near a window where the sun hits it, could start a fire.
“We’re sharing our story to help keep others safe and remind everyone to move reflective objects away from windowsills and out of direct sunlight.”
Michael added: “Our advice now just be careful and educate people in your household about the dangers.
“It’s one small preventable thing, that can have devastating effects.
“We were lucky.”
