WATERVLIET, Mich. — South Haven High School students and fans gathered in Watervliet on Saturday for a rescheduled homecoming football game, one day after a massive fire at East Jordan Plastics triggered a precautionary citywide power shutdown that forced the postponement.
A clear blue sky welcomed fans who had waited a day after thick black smoke filled the sky over South Haven.
South Haven Area Emergency Services reported the first alarm at 3:48 p.m. Friday. The fire quickly grew into a 5-alarm response, with crews from 12 departments working overnight to extinguish the blaze using an estimated 2 million gallons of water. Power was restored to the community around 10:30 p.m. Friday.
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Senior Corinne Beeney said she witnessed the fire firsthand.
"I was on my way to my friend's house, and we saw the smoke," Beeney said. "And we drove past it, and when we got to our house, everyone was just outside watching it blow up."
South Haven Superintendent Ana Aleman-Putman was returning from a conference when she received a call asking for assistance.
"We got a call from our police officers that we needed some help evacuating employees from a local company and ran downstairs, talked to my transportation director, got in a bus, and went over there lickety-split, and were able to evacuate all of the employees safely," Aleman-Putman said. "We took them to high school, and really worked together as a team."
Teamwork with Watervliet High School helped make the rescheduled homecoming possible.
"My athletic director, Chris, worked overtime last night calling, making sure officials — working with the AD, working with the superintendent," Aleman-Putman said. "And the community of Watervliet has been amazing, making this happen for today. We still hope to do something in a couple of weeks for our seniors to make sure they can celebrate their year here — their final year at South Haven Public, but it's just been heartwarming to see all of our neighboring communities pull together."
A student section showed up to cheer on the Rams after a chaotic 24 hours.
Senior Trinity Sistrunk said she felt for her fellow students.
"It's homecoming, and I feel bad for them too, because their game got moved and I know a lot of them were excited," Sistrunk said.
Senior Aubrie Hurn said the turnout sent a message.
"I think it really means a lot, especially for the players," Hurn said. "It really shows how much we care for our players and how much we love our team and want to support them."
Beeney said the effort to make the game happen was meaningful.
"It means a lot to me honestly that we could make it work with the little that we had, in the little short (amount) of time that we had too," Beeney said.
Aleman-Putman said she was proud of her students and community.
"They are here, they are representing, and they are happy to be a Ram," Aleman-Putman said.
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