Jo Grant reveals how volunteering helped her family get through tough times

A Karratha mother and firefighter has revealed how volunteering helped her family get through a tough time while urging more locals to sign up their services to a Pilbara group. Jo Grant, her daughter Emily Manzinger and husband, Andrew Manzinger all volunteer with the Nickol Bay Bushfire Brigade and have done so for two years. They previously lived in Mount Pleasant in South Australia where they were volunteered for the Mount Pleasant Country Fire Service. Ms Grant suffered a brain and spinal cord injury and said being part of the brigade had helped her “immensely”. “Whilst I’m still recovering, the brigades have been there and helped us when Andrew was away working, if we needed anyone to help Emily and I around the house,” she said. “Through our journey, we’ve had the fortunate blessing of some beautiful people that have become life-long friends and the fire brigades have essentially become our family.” Ms Grant now volunteers as a photographer for the Youth in Emergency Services program, State Emergency Service, marine rescue and St John Ambulances. “For us as a family, giving back to the community and being part of something really great has definitely helped me heal in a lot of ways,” she said. Ms Grant’s daughter, Emily, is a cadet for the YES program and said being part of the program had taken her out of her comfort zone. “I’ve been afraid of lots things and it’s just challenged me and I like that because it gets me to face my fears,” she said. “Knowing that I’ll have the experience and know what to do in a certain scenario is good. “It’s pretty much a family tradition, Mum, Dad and Pop were all in the fire brigades and I wanted to continue that tradition helping the communities,” she said. Mr Manzinger also has a long history working for different brigades and had held different positions for 20 years, including lieutenant and captain. He first got a taste in November 1988 when he assisted with a fire in Clifton Hills in Kelmscott and from there, volunteered in Broome, Roleystone and Pickering Brook.