At approximately 2 a.m., Sunday Nov. 5 the Kern County Fire Department received a call for a fire in a commercial building in the on W. Sherwood and 1st Street in McFarland.

Upon arrival crews saw heavy fire showing through the roof of a strip mall that was attached to an apartment building.

A second alarm was started and crews took aggressive action to stop the spread of the fire from reaching the apartments.

Residents were briefly evacuated after the roof partially collapsed.

The strip mall consisted of several small businesses and a gas station.

Three of the 9 businesses were damaged by fire and smoke.

Damage is estimated at $300,000 with over $1,000,000 in property saved.

There were no injuries to fire personnel or to the public. The cause of the fire is under investigation.