Jay Leno opens up about terrifying garage accident: 'My face was on fire'
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Jay Leno is breaking his silence on the harrowing garage fire that left him with second-degree burns and put him in the hospital for more than a week.
In a new interview with PEOPLE, the comedian and television host opened up for the first time about the accident, which occurred Nov. 12 when Leno and longtime friend Dave Killackey were working on the undercarriage of a 1907 White steam car. The automobile aficionados were working on a clogged fuel line at the time.
"With a steam car, you have gasoline, but you also have a vaporizer which is heated by a pilot light to turn water into steam," Leno explained. He and Killackey decided to blow some air into the fuel line to try to unclog it, and Leno "got a face full of gasoline" as a result. "I knew how close I was to the pilot light and I thought, 'Uh oh,'" he said of the moment right before he caught fire.
Grossman Burn Center Jay Leno with the Grossman Burn Center staff
"It felt exactly like my face was on fire," he added. "Maybe like the most intense sunburn you've ever had, that'd be fair to say." In addition to his face, Leno sustained burn injuries to his neck, chest, hands, and arm.
At that point, quick thinking told Leno to close his eyes and hold his breath while Killackey assisted in getting him away from the car.
"I'm not a panicky guy, but I knew if I breathed in I could scorch my lungs," Leno said. "I was under the car maybe 10 seconds before Dave pulled me out. Any longer than that I could have lost my eye."
From there, Leno spent nine days at Grossman Burn Center in West Hills, Calif., recovering and undergoing two skin-grafting surgeries — one of which involved human cadaver skin, and the other pig intestine. He also revealed he refused to take pain medications afterward, insisting that "the pain is a reminder that I'm an idiot!"
Leno returned to the stage a mere six days after being released from the hospital with a standup set at the Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, Calif. He has also since returned to his beloved cars, telling PEOPLE, "I know how bad it could have been, but I'm okay. And I'm sure I'll continue to do the same stupid things I've always done — just maybe a little bit more carefully!"
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