FindMyHydrant was featured in Bedfordview and Edenvale News for the first time this year, and we have journalist Naidine Sibanda to thank for it. Her article told our story to a whole community who had never heard of us before, and that kind of visibility is something we don’t take lightly.
Who We Are
If this is the first time you’re hearing of us, here’s the short version. FindMyHydrant is a free app and website that maps fire hydrants, so that when every second counts, first responders and residents don’t have to guess where the nearest working hydrant is.
We’re a small, community-powered non-profit, started by a mother and daughter, Jackie and Shannon Momsen, on one simple belief – fire safety shouldn’t depend on luck. As two ordinary residents, we can’t do this alone, which is why we work closely with Josh Hastings, our field advisor. Josh is the man on the ground, keeping us grounded in what firefighters actually need and helping shape the app to support them better.
Our mission is simple to say and harder to do: get every hydrant mapped, verified, and visible, powered by everyday people who care about their neighbourhoods. The FindMyHydrant app is now live on Android through the Google Play Store, with iOS on the way.
If you’d like to help map your area, or just want to see what’s near you, visit findmyhydrant.co.za to view the map, or download the app from Google Play.
How the Story Came About
Naidine’s piece walked readers through where FindMyHydrant began: a fire in Isandovale, Edenvale, where first responders struggled to locate the nearest hydrant in time. That experience pushed co-founders Jackie and Shannon Momsen to map every hydrant they could find in their area, starting with a simple PDF shared in a community group chat before growing into the website and app we run today.
The article also gave credit where it was due, mentioning firefighter and field advisor Joshua Hastings, whose input has shaped how the platform captures GPS coordinates and thinks about access to enclosures. It’s the kind of detail that shows Naidine did her homework rather than just skimming the surface.
Why Local Press Coverage Matters
For a community non-profit like ours, a feature like this does more than boost a website’s traffic. It puts FindMyHydrant in front of residents who might never have searched for a hydrant map on their own, but who now know one exists the next time an emergency happens near them.
It also validates the work Jackie, Shannon, and Josh put in on the ground – literally walking streets, photographing hydrants, and checking coordinates – long before most people knew the project existed. Being written about by an independent local journalist carries a kind of trust that a post on our own website simply can’t replicate on its own.
A Story Well Told
Naidine’s article captured the practical side of what we do too – how hydrants are marked differently across areas, some by blue cats-eye reflectors, some underground, some fenced off entirely, and why that inconsistency is part of the problem we’re trying to solve. She also included the map’s early numbers at the time of writing, giving readers a real sense of scale rather than a vague mission statement.
That’s the kind of storytelling that raises awareness in a way we can’t always achieve alone, and it’s exactly why we wanted to say thank you publicly.
In Print, Too
The story didn’t stop online. On 12 August 2026, FindMyHydrant appeared on page 2 of the printed edition of Bedfordview and Edenvale News, under the headline “App puts hydrant locations at firefighters’ fingertips.” Seeing our work in an actual newspaper, sitting on someone’s kitchen table or in a waiting room, is a different kind of milestone to an online mention, and it’s one we’re just as grateful for.
The print feature included a photo of Jackie and Shannon standing beside a hydrant in Isandovale, taken by Naidine herself. It’s a fitting image for the story: two co-founders, one hydrant, and the whole reason this project started in the first place.
Thank You, Naidine
To Naidine Sibanda and the team at Bedfordview and Edenvale News – thank you for taking the time to understand what FindMyHydrant is trying to do, and for telling that story to your readers, in print and online. Getting our name out there for the first time is a milestone we’ll remember, and it’s one we owe to good, honest local journalism.
If you haven’t read the full feature yet, you can find it here on the Bedfordview and Edenvale News website. And if you’d like to help us keep growing the map, adding a hydrant in your own area is one of the easiest ways to get involved.
Photo Credit: Naidine Sibanda