Jay Leno’s ‘face caught on fire’ during car garage explosion
Jay Leno reveals a clogged fuel line explosion led to his face catching fire in last month’s terrifying car garage explosion.
The former “Tonight Show” host and his friend, Dave Killackey, were working on a 1907 White Steam Car in the garage of Leno’s Los Angeles home when a blaze broke out.
“The fuel line was clogged, so I was underneath it,” Leno, 72, explained to Hoda Kotb during an NBC News “Today” show interview that will air in full on Wednesday.
“And I said, ‘Blow some air through the line.’ And suddenly, boom, I got a face full of gas.”
The avid car collector recalled the pilot light jumping, after which his “face caught on fire.”
Despite the horrifying ordeal, Leno said he managed to calmly relay the information to Killackey, who acted quickly.
“And then Dave, my friend, pulled me out and jumped on top of me and kind of smothered the fire,” he explained.
The “Jay Leno’s Garage” host was immediately transported to the Grossman Burn Center and stayed there for 10 days to treat third-degree burns to his face, chest and hands.
While there, he underwent two grafting procedures to remove unhealthy tissue and promote healing as well as numerous hyperbaric chamber sessions to decrease swelling, increase blood flow and kill bacteria.
Leno has remained upbeat and positive throughout his recovery.
“I got some serious burns from a gasoline fire. I am OK. Just need a week or two to get back on my feet,” he told Page Six immediately after the incident.
The day after he was discharged from the hospital, he got back behind the wheel and drove back to the scene of the freak accident. “[I’m] hanging in there. Everything’s fine,” he insisted to an inquiring photographer.
Less than a week later, he was back onstage at The Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, Calif., where he performed for a sold-out crowd.
The comedian even joked about how his “brand-new face” is “better than what was there before” in an essay published Sunday in the Wall Street Journal.