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Jay Leno Does First Interview Since Car Fire, Explains How It All Went Down

“I said, ‘Dave, I’m on fire’.” To hear television personality and respected car collector Jay Leno recount the incident that resulted in a fire that caused severe burns to his face and hands, you’d think he was telling a joke.
Jay Leno is back in the garage, talking about the 1907 White steam car fire for the first time 11 photos
Photo: NBC / The Today Show
Jay Leno and 1909 White Model M steam carJay Leno and 1909 White Model M steam carJay Leno and 1909 White Model M steam carJay Leno and 1909 White Model M steam carJay Leno and 1909 White Model M steam carJay Leno is an avid car collectorJay Leno is an avid car collectorJay Leno is an avid car collectorJay Leno is an avid car collectorJay Leno is an avid car collector
In mid-November (so precisely one month ago), Jay Leno was rushed to the hospital after suffering burns to his face, hands and body in a fire that broke out inside his Burbank garage. Later reports would reveal that he had been working on one of his cars when a spark ignited a gasoline leak, causing the flames.

Even later reports would pinpoint his priceless 1907 White steam car as the culprit. Leno was working on a clogged fuel line when it burst, spraying him with gasoline. To his luck, his longtime mechanic and good friend Dave Killackey was there to smother out the flames before calling for an ambulance.

For the first time since the incident and the subsequent 10-day hospitalization at Grossman Burn Center in West Hills Hospital in Los Angeles, Leno is going on the record. He sat down for an interview with NBC’s Hoda Kotb, with the video below serving as a teaser for the full segment that airs today, December 14.

Leno confirms the previous reports about how the fire started, recalling in an almost casual manner how he was under the car and told Dave to “Blow some air through the line.” “And suddenly, boom, I got a face full of gas. And then the pilot light jumped and my face caught on fire,” he says.

“And I said to my friend, I said, ‘Dave, I’m on fire.’ And Dave’s like, ‘All right.’ I said, ‘No, Dave, I’m on fire.’ And then, ‘Oh, my God.’ Dave, my friend, pulled me out and jumped on top of me and kind of smothered the fire,” Leno recalls.

He would spend the next 10 days in the hospital, where he received skin grafts and treatment, including in the hyperbaric chamber. Upon his release from the hospital, he returned to work as per usual, even hosting a scheduled comedy gig that same month.

Dr. Peter Grossman, the director at the facility, told the same media outlet that, while Leno had suffered “relatively serious” burns to 7% of his body, he was very stoic and had a high pain threshold, which helped with the speedy recovery. Looking at Leno’s first interview on the topic, it looks like a healthy sense of humor about even the crappiest situations helps.



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Editor's note: Photos in the gallery show some of Jay Leno's many cars.

About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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