A structural framework for fire and explosion risk in EFRTs: empirical validation using EFA, CFA, and path analysis

Area of Science:

• Industrial Safety
• Risk Management
• Fire Engineering

Background:

• External Floating Roof Tanks (EFRTs) present significant fire and explosion risks due to combined human error, technical failures, and inadequate emergency responses.
• Current risk assessment models often rely on simplistic ranking methods, failing to capture the systemic interdependencies inherent in EFRT operations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a robust structural model for understanding the latent constructs associated with EFRT hazards.
• To integrate human, technical, and organizational factors into a comprehensive risk assessment framework for EFRTs.

Main Methods:

• A structured checklist of 71 indicators across 11 domains was created using expert input and literature review.
• Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) identified key dimensions from data collected from 285 professionals.
• Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and path analysis were employed for model validation and causal relationship assessment.

Main Results:

• EFA identified 11 factors explaining 72% of the variance in EFRT hazards.
• CFA confirmed a strong model fit (CFI=0.915, RMSEA=0.048).
• Path analysis revealed significant causal links, such as operational errors leading to technical failures and fire suppression breakdown.

Conclusions:

• The validated structural model offers a multidimensional framework for EFRT risk assessment, integrating critical human, technical, and organizational domains.
• This model provides practical insights for safety engineers to pinpoint high-leverage intervention points and develop predictive safety tools.
• The framework can be adapted for intelligent fire prevention systems in storage infrastructure.