Police: Cigarette lit Downtown Grocery fire

This story has been updated to include Sweets on Third as ibe of the businesses which remains closed from fire damage.

WAUSAU — Police say a cigarette is to blame for the fire that damaged Downtown Grocery, Evolve Fitness and Sweets on Third last Tuesday.

Police got an anonymous tip Thursday about a 16-year-old male from Wausau East High School who talked about being responsible for starting a fire behind Downtown Grocery and Evolve Fitness, which caused the two businesses, along with Sweets on Third, to close for the time being, according to a news release from Wausau Police Department.

According to the release, the teen was questioned by police, and he told them he threw a cigarette into a dumpster filled with cardboard behind the grocery store before the fire was reported.  He told police he did not start the fire intentionally, according to the release. He's being referred to juvenile court in Marathon County for negligent handling of burning material, according to the release.

No one was injured in the fire, which happened at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, said Wausau Fire Battalion Chief Paul Czarapata. The fire was extinguished shortly after firefighters arrived on the scene, but black smoke continued to billow out of the building for about an hour, he said.

About a dozen Downtown Grocery employees spent Friday and Saturday clearing items out of the store, Daily Herald Media reported. Classes at Evolve Fitness, located above Downtown Grocery, have been temporarily relocated to a space in Dudley Tower, according to a Facebook post from Evolve Fitness.

Neither of the closed businesses have shared an expected reopening date.

Reporter Raina Beutel can be reached at raina.beutel@gannettwisconsin.com or 715-845-0658. Find her on Twitter as @rainabeutel.