Jay Leno has opened up for the first time about the accident that left him with severe burns to his face and body.
In an interview with Hoda Kotb from “Today,” his first since the November 12 incident, the comedian, 72, said he was working underneath an antique 1907 car alongside his friend Dave Killackey when a series of events led to his injuries.
Keep scrolling for a collection of photos from Jay Leno’s career
“The fuel line was clogged so I was underneath it. It sounded clogged and I said, ‘Blow some air through the line,’ and so he did,” Leno, an avid car collector, recalled to Kotb. “And suddenly, boom, I got a face full of gas. And then the pilot light jumped and my face caught on fire.”
Jay Leno speaks during his first interview on NBC News’ ‘Today’ following his burn injuries.
From Today
The “Jay Leno’s Garage” star said he told Killackey, “Dave, I’m on fire,” to which his friend at first simply responded, “All right.”
“I said, ‘No, Dave, I’m on fire.’ And then, ‘Oh, my God,'” Leno added. “Dave, my friend, pulled me out and jumped on top of me and kind of smothered the fire.”
Leno was first taken to a local hospital, and then he was transferred to the Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles after the incident, CNN previously reported.
Dr. Peter Grossman, the surgeon treating Jay Leno, released video of the comedian in an oxygen chamber getting treatment for the injuries he suffered as a result of a gasoline fire. Grossman says although the injuries are “serious” he is expected to be back to work soon.
In a news conference on November 16, Dr. Peter Grossman, who treated the former “Tonight Show” host, said “it was noted that he had pretty significant burns to face and hands,” going on to say that the burns were on Leno’s “face, his hands, and his chest.”
The burns were a mixture of second-degree and possibly some third-degree burns, according to Grossman, who added that “some of the burns to the face are a little deeper and a little more concerning.”
Although Leno’s injuries were serious, Grossman said at the time that the funnyman was expected to make a full recovery.
Sure enough, just two weeks after the accident, Leno performed in front of a sold-out crowd at his regular haunt the Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, California, according to a spokesperson for the club at the time.
According to NBC, Leno joked to reporters outside the venue, “We got two shows tonight. Regular and extra crispy.”
This week’s interview will appear on NBC News’ “Today” show on Wednesday.
Photos: Jay Leno through the years
Wayne Gretzky, 27 smiles as he talks to guest host Jay Leno, right, during the taping of the “Tonight” show at television studios in Burbank, Calif., Aug. 20, 1988. Gretzky was recently traded to the Los Angeles Kings NHL team from the Edmonton Oilers in one of the biggest sports deals in history. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Reed Saxon
Actor/comedian Billy Crystal, left, serenades “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno with “Dear Mr. Leno” during the inauguration of “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” at NBC Studios in Burbank, May 25, 1992. The song Crystal sang was a parody of Bette Midler’s ode to Carson on his penultimate show last week. Crystal was Leno’s first guest. (AP Photo/Craig Fujii)
Craig Fujii
Jay Leno, left, hugs Branford Marsalis during the inauguration of “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” which was broadcast live on the east coast from NBC Studios in Burbank, Calif., May 25, 1992. The show features a new band with Marsalis as musical director. Leno’s first guests were comedian Billy Crystal and singer Shanice. (AP Photo/Craig Fujii)
Craig Fujii
Jay Leno gestures during the opening monologue at the inauguration of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” which was broadcast live on the east coast from NBC Studios in Burbank, Calif., May 25, 1992. The show features a new band with jazz musician Branford Marsalis as musical director. Leno’s first guests were comedian Billy Crystal and singer Shanice. (AP Photo/Craig Fujii)
Craig Fujii
Jay Leno, left, host of NBC’s “Tonight Show” gestures as the network’s entertainment president Warren Littlefield looks on, Jan. 15, 1993 in Santa Monica, Calif., during the NBC press tour. Littlefield said Leno would stay in his late night talk show host position while David Letterman will move to CBS during the same time slot. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Reed Saxon
“Tonight Show” host Jay Leno, taping a promotional spot, spits out his water after jokingly reacting to the news that David Letterman’s new show on CBS will start opposite his, Aug. 30, 1993, in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Kevork Djanseszian)
Kevork Djansezian
Actor Michael Richards, left, of the television show “Seinfeld,” holds his Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series alongside Jay Leno who presented it to him, backstage, Sept. 19, 1993, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)
Douglas C. Pizac
Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan hugs Jay Leno Friday, May 3, 1996, in Rosemont, Ill., after being introduced during a taping of “The Tonight Show.” (AP Photo/Michael S. Green)
MICHAEL S. GREEN
The famed Hollwood Sign is lit by Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, left, along with his wife Nancy, Tonight Show host Jay Leno and comedian Will Shriner at the stroke of midnight during Celebrate L.A. 2000 Hollywood Sign Spectacular, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2000, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo)
Staff
**FILE**”Tonight Show” host Jay Leno gives an opening monologue in this Sept. 18, 2001 file photo at NBC studios in Burbank, Calif.
Lee Celano
Presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., left, and “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno share a moment during Kerry’s appearance on the show at NBC studios in Burbank, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2003. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
REED SAXON
**FILE** First lady Laura Bush and “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno share a moment during her appearance on the taping of the show at NBC studios in Burbank, Calif. in this Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2004 file photo. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
REED SAXON
“Tonight Show” host Jay Leno greets fans during the taping of his show at the NBC studios Tuesday, May 25, 2005, in Burbank, Calif. Jay Leno testified earlier today in the child molestation trial of pop star Michael Jackson, that the boy at the center of the case sounded scripted over the telephone but never asked for money. The defense called the “Tonight Show” comic to the stand to support its claim that the boy’s family schemed to get money from celebrities like Jackson. The boy was suffering from cancer when he telephoned Leno. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
DAMIAN DOVARGANES
Tom Cruise talks with “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno during taping of the show at NBC studios in Burbank, Calif., Wednesday, June 8, 2005. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
REED SAXON
In this handout photo from General Motors, comedian Jay Leno introduces a specially outfitted 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, the fastest vehicle ever offered by Chevrolet and General Motors, at the Los Angeles Auto Show Thursday, Jan. 5, 2006. The Corvette Z06 will serve as the official pace car of the 48th running of the Daytona 500, on Feb. 19. Leno will drive the pace car. This Corvette Z06 Daytona 500 pace car is mechanically identical to those available at Chevrolet dealerships. (AP Photo/General Motors, Dan MacMedan)
DAN MACMEDAN
Entertainer Jay Leno reacts as he is introduced to the crowd prior to the start of the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 19, 2006. Leno will drive the pace car during the race. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
JOHN RAOUX
Jay Leno, host of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” poses against an antique fire truck at his private garage of classic cars in Burbank, Calif., Monday, May 21, 2007. Leno is marking his 15th year as host of the show on Friday.(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Chris Pizzello
Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, and host Jay Leno chat during the taping of “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” at NBC studios in Burbank, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) **NO SALES**
Reed Saxon
Television personality Jay Leno, left, and cast member Jerry Seinfeld share a moment while arriving at the Los Angeles premiere of “Bee Movie,” Sunday, Oct. 28, 2007, in the Westwood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Weeks)
CHRIS WEEKS
Comedian Jay Leno, who was on hand to help kick off National Gay-Pride month with a celebration of the California Supreme Court decision and a dusk “commitment to protect our rights” ceremony, looks on as on as Psycadella arrives, Wednesday June 4, 2008 in in West Hollywood, Calif. Several couples committed with a “vow to vote no” and support of the campaign to defeat the November ballot measure that would take away the marriage rights granted by the California state Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Mark J. Terrill
Host Jay Leno, right, and Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., talk during the taping of “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” at the NBC Studios in Burbank, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Reed Saxon
Jay Leno reacts as he tells a story during an interview at the Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Mich., Tuesday, April 7, 2009. Leno is in the Detroit area to promote two performances billed as “Jay’s Comedy Stimulus Plan.” (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Carlos Osorio
Comedian Jay Leno performs during the Jay Leno Comedy Stimulus Plan show at the Roberts Centre, Sunday, May 10, 2009, in Wilmington, Ohio. (AP Photo/David Kohl)
David Kohl
Jay Leno speaks during the panel for “The Jay Leno Show” at the NBC Universal Television Critics Association summer press tour in Pasadena, Calif. on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
Matt Sayles
Jay Leno, left, and Jerry Seinfeld arrive at the Vanity Fair Oscar party on Sunday, March 7, 2010, in West Hollywood, Calif. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer)
Peter Kramer
Comedian Jay Leno, far right, pokes some fun at President Barack Obama, second from right, during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel, Saturday, May 1, 2010, in Washington. At far left is first lady Michelle Obama, second from left is Matt Winkler of Bloomberg. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
J. Scott Applewhite
Jay Leno works to earn his Pudding Pot as he is honored as the 2011 Man of the Year at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., Friday, February 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Lisa Poole)
Lisa Poole
Jay Leno appears during the final taping of NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” in Burbank, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014. Leno brings his 22-year career as the show host to an end Thursday in a special one-hour farewell broadcast. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
Matt Sayles
From left, actor Emilio Rivera, Love Ride founder Oliver Shokouh, Jay Leno, Lorenzo Lamas, and Robert Patrick on stage during the 32nd Love Ride at Castaic Lake on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015, in Castaic, Calif. (Photo by Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP)
Paul A. Hebert
Mark Twain Prize for American Humor honoree Jay Leno waves to the audience as he is announced at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Kevin Wolf
Jay Leno is interview on the red carpet as he arrives at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Kevin Wolf
FILE – This May 21, 2014 file photo shows American comedian Jay Leno smiles during an interview with the Associated Press in Jerusalem. CNBC is returning Leno to nightly television. The new show, tentatively titled “Jay Leno’s Garage” and based on his Emmy Award-winning web series, will premiere in 2015, the network announced Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, File)
Sebastian Scheiner
FILE – In this Aug. 13, 2015, file photo, Jay Leno participates in the “Jay Leno’s Garage” panel at the The NBCUniversal Summer TCA Tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. A television crew filmed Leno’s Stanley steam-powered car driving the auto road to the summit of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington this week. He told the Portland Press Herald that the idea was to recreate the first time a Stanley drove up the mountain in 1899. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
Richard Shotwell
FILE – In this Jan. 13, 2013, file photo, presenters Jimmy Fallon, left, and Jay Leno pose backstage at the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif. There are comedy clubs across the country now, and in Budd Friedman’s just-published memoir, “The Improv: An Oral History of the Comedy Club That Revolutionized Stand-Up,” generations of comedians from Jay Leno to Jimmy Fallon give the author the lion’s share of the credit. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Jordan Strauss
Jay Leno arrives at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018, for a memorial service for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. McCain died Aug. 25 from brain cancer at age 81. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Susan Walsh
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