At the age of 11, a furnace exploded below Frank's music classroom in the Cleveland Hill Elementary School in Cheektowaga, New York. The fire killed fifteen of his fellow students and hospitalised him for seven months. It was during his time in the hospital that he was first introduced to playing music, when a teacher, Charlie Casatelli, brought in an acoustic guitar to keep Frank occupied during his recovery. When he was 21, he was awarded an insurance cheque of $100,000 for his injuries, giving him enough to catch a boat to England.