Fire Factor

I came home today to a sign on my apartment building's door and another in the elevator that says, "Attention Residents: The standpipe in this structure is out of service while the new standpipe is being installed." This is the first sign I've ever seen posted in the elevator or on the front door, so it would seem that it's of some importance. I thought it may mean that we wouldn't have any water, but the water worked fine. So I looked up "standpipe" online and it turns out that a standpipe is what the fire department uses to put out fires in apartment buildings, so yes, it is rather important. What the sign is really saying is "Attention Residents: Please don't start this building on fire today."