Just 48 hours before the Pittsburgh Steelers Wildcard playoffs loss to the Denver Broncos in January, a fire broke out in the kitchen of Kirby Wilson’s townhome in Seven Fields.

A veteran running backs coach with the Steelers, Wilson suffered second- and third-degree burns on almost half of his body from the flames. He also had lung damage from a smoke-inhalation injury.

Three months later, Wilson, who initially was put into a medically induced coma, was returning to Steelers headquarters to participate in the NFL draft. By the time training camp rolled around in July, he was jogging up and down the sidelines with his players.

On Sunday, Wilson opened up about his recovery to ESPN’s Josina Anderson. Also speaking to Anderson in that interview were Wilson’s good friend—and Steelers director of player development—Ray Jackson, and running backs Isaac Redman and Rashard Mendenhall. 

“Before every game, as we take the field, the last voice you hear when we take that field is Kirby Wilson,” Jackson said in the interview. “And going there without him, it was an empty field.”

The fire, caused by grease left on the stove, resulted in an excruciating recovery process for Wilson. Hear him talk about that ongoing effort and his joy at returning to work with the Steelers in the video, here.