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Magic coach Frank Vogel gained strength from traumatic fire 26 years ago

WILDWOOD CREST, N.J. — Glass shattered.

The noise snapped 17-year-old Frank Vogel out of a deep sleep.

He opened his bedroom door. Black smoke filled the air from floor to ceiling, and he saw an orange tint in the distance. Heat engulfed him, and he thought he burned his face. He fell to the floor to protect himself.

He screamed to wake up his mom in her room. He yelled that their house was on fire, told her to leave through her window and shouted that he intended to exit through the side door. But when Vogel touched the door handle, the handle felt like a red-hot frying pan.