Judy O’Shea woke up in the wee hours of Saturday morning thinking that deer were munching on her flowers. But when she peered out of her bedroom window, she realized the noise was not wildlife: a fire was consuming her and her husbband’s studio, which housed artwork and served as the de facto community space for her large family. “I saw a great sunrise, but it was coming from the wrong direction,” said Ms. O’Shea, who lives in Shallow Beach, a small community near Hearts Desire, on the west shore of Tomales Bay. She called 911. Her husband, Michael, and their neighbor Dudley aimed fire hoses fed by hydrants on the property to stop the conflagration from spreading to the main house; Ms. O’Shea and Dudley’s wife, Sarah, did the same with garden hoses. The Inverness Volunteer Fire Department arrived on the scene first, followed by five other county fire stations, totaling 26 firefighters. They stopped the flames by 5:40 a.m. but the 1,600 square-foot, two-story building was destroyed. “They did everything they could to keep the fire from spreading… They made us feel safe,” Ms. O’Shea said of the firefighters, adding that Sarah and Dudley were “our heroes.” The main house, though scorched, was saved. The burnt structure was built in the 1950s by the former homeowner so that his wife could “escape the chaos of the main house,” Mr. O’Shea wrote in a Facebook post on the West Marin Feed’s page. The couple purchased the property almost 40 years ago, splitting time between Shallow Beach and San Francisco until they moved here full time last month. Both of the O’Sheas are artists: Michael makes paintings, prints, photographs and artist’s books, and Judy, whose work is showing at the Buck Institute For Aging, does mostly large-scale installations. “One of the hardest parts is that a lot of his work burned up,” she said, choking up. Mr. O’Shea had also stored old letters from his grandfather and between his parents in the studio, which was also a haven for the O’Sheas’ seven kids and 12 grandkids. “I think my personal feeling is that houses are like boats. They have personality. They protect you. You put your confidence in them. It feels like losing a friend. Every square inch—all its foibles and all its glory,” Ms. O’Shea reflected. Marin County Fire Battalion Chief Bret McTigue said the cause was still under investigation, but Ms. O’Shea said it may have been a faulty gas heater. The couple is shaken, but they also see it as “a chance to start over.” And, Ms. O’Shea said, “I’m never going to complain about being a light sleeper.”