By Kristen Ray
Artwork, books and other personal belongings are amidst the damage sustained from a house fire that broke out at the Quinn estate along Poppasquash Road during the afternoon of Wednesday, July 10.
“Everything’s destroyed in there,” said Katherine Quinn, wife of the late award-winning actor, artist and writer, Anthony Quinn.
Two days after a blaze swept through the walls and up into the roof — bringing in firefighters from Bristol, Portsmouth, Warren and Swansea to help get it under control — construction crews are still busy stripping the interior of the home completely bare.
“They’re taking things out, ripping up the walls,” Ms. Quinn said. “It’s bad.”
The worst of the fire was limited to the main portion of the house, though Ms. Quinn said the back of the estate suffered some smoke damage as well. Without access to a nearby hydrant, fire crews were forced to pump saltwater from the bay to put the flames out.
In the meantime, Ms. Quinn and her family — including one traumatized cat, trapped upstairs as the scene unfolded — are arranging to move into a neighbor’s guesthouse, likely for the remainder of the year.
The estate is additionally home to the Anthony Quinn Foundation and art museum, boasting thousands of pieces produced by Mr. Quinn throughout his lifetime.