Fire safety in an apartment building can easily become something that gets pushed into the background.

The fire alarm company comes in. The sprinkler contractor does the annual inspection. Emergency lights get tested. Reports get filed away. As long as there are no obvious problems, it can feel like everything is being taken care of.

But there is a difference between having fire protection systems in a building and actually understanding how those systems work together when there is an emergency.

Property managers and building staff do not need to be fire protection technicians. They should, however, understand the basics of the systems they are responsible for and know what to do when something goes wrong.

Here are seven questions worth asking at your building.

This sounds simple, but the answer can vary significantly from building to building.

Does the alarm automatically notify a monitoring company? Does the monitoring company contact the fire department? Are elevators recalled? Are magnetic door holders released? Are certain ventilation systems shut down?

Just as importantly, what are building staff expected to do?

Staff should understand the basic sequence of events that takes place when the fire alarm operates. Nobody wants to be trying to figure that out for the first time while an alarm is sounding and residents are asking questions.

A sprinkler system does not require building staff to understand every pipe, valve and component. But they should know where the important equipment is located.

That includes sprinkler control valves, the fire department connection and, where applicable, equipment such as fire pumps.

A closed sprinkler valve can potentially leave part of a building without sprinkler protection. Valves should be properly supervised, inspected and maintained in accordance with the requirements that apply to the building.

From an operational standpoint, staff should at least be able to show a fire protection contractor or responding fire crew where the main equipment is located.

Fire doors are one of the simplest fire safety features in a building, but they are also one of the easiest to defeat.

Door wedges, damaged closers, misaligned latches and objects preventing a door from closing are common problems.

A fire door is there for a reason. When closed, it helps limit the movement of fire and smoke from one area of the building to another.

A door that is supposed to close and latch but cannot do so is not providing the protection it was designed to provide.

This is one of those things that building staff can keep an eye on during normal day-to-day operations. You do not need to wait for an annual inspection to notice a fire door being held open with a wedge.

This is where many buildings get caught off guard.

A contractor arrives to work on the fire alarm system. A sprinkler pipe breaks. A control panel develops a problem. Suddenly, an important fire protection system is partially or completely out of service.

Now what?

Building management should know the procedures for dealing with an impairment before one occurs.

Depending on the system, the extent of the impairment and the requirements that apply to the building, this may involve notifying appropriate parties, implementing a fire watch, communicating with occupants, contacting contractors and taking additional temporary precautions.

The important part is having a procedure rather than trying to create one during the incident.

When firefighters arrive at an apartment building, the first few minutes matter.

Building staff can be extremely helpful when they can quickly provide accurate information.

Where is the fire alarm control panel? Where is the sprinkler room? Is there a fire pump? Where are the building keys? Is anyone known to require assistance? Is part of a fire protection system currently out of service?

Staff should also know the building's primary fire department access point and make sure access to important fire protection equipment is kept clear.

You do not need to know how firefighters will handle the emergency. You simply want to make it easier for them to get the information they need.

Many property managers have the required inspections completed, but the paperwork ends up scattered between email accounts, filing cabinets, contractor portals and maintenance offices.

When was the fire alarm system last inspected?

When was the sprinkler system last serviced?

Were deficiencies identified?

Were they corrected?

If an inspector, owner or fire department representative asked for the records, how quickly could you produce them?

Good record keeping is not the most exciting part of fire safety, but it is an important one. A simple, organized system for storing reports and tracking deficiencies can make a significant difference.

It also helps prevent an identified problem from disappearing into a stack of paperwork.

This may be the most important question on the list.

If the regular building manager is away, would the person covering the building know where the fire alarm panel is?

Would they recognize a sprinkler control valve?

Would they know what to do if the alarm system was taken out of service?

Would they know where the building's emergency information and fire safety procedures are kept?

Fire safety knowledge should not exist with only one person.

Maintenance staff, superintendents and other employees who may be responsible for the building should receive enough training to understand their role.

Most property managers already have a long list of responsibilities. The goal is not to turn building staff into fire protection experts.

The goal is familiarity.

Know your building. Know where the important equipment is located. Understand the basic procedures. Keep good records. Make sure more than one person knows what to do.

Those relatively simple steps can make a major difference when something unexpected happens.

And in fire safety, the middle of an emergency is never the best time to start looking for the answers.