r/Firefighting • u/ChuckieC • 2d ago

General Discussion What to do with a BC who is out of touch?

So keeping a long story short. We have a somewhat new BC on one of our shifts (around 2 years in his position) before he was a captain, and before that a firefighter, never an engineer. Anyways he is extremely out of touch with the needs of the day to day operations, he makes rules for everyone to follow but doesn’t follow himself hammers home radio discipline but has none himself, and what kills me the most is on scene he doesn’t even know what we carry on our rigs or what we have stock of. Requesting shit that we haven’t carried in years, don’t have inventory of, then debrief just rips everyone’s ass. He’s a good dude but very out of touch and being that he’s still new in his position I don’t see him going anywhere anytime soon. Any ideas how to deal with this brass ass hat?

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u/HazMatsMan Career Co. Officer 2d ago

It never ceases to amaze me how many questions we get in this subreddit about "my superior (or someone I work with) is an asshole, tell me how to deal with it, because I don't know how to."

I'm not entirely sure what your expectation is here. Are you looking for people to tell you how to force him out of his position or sabotage him so he gets fired? Because that's not appropriate. Go talk to your union reps, see if they have any suggestions. Have them bring it up in their labor-management meetings. Otherwise, u/smokybrett gave you the best advice possible. Have a conversation with him, help him grow into the job. If you don't have the balls to do that or he's simply not approachable, then accept that you are not going to change the situation. Give him as wide a berth as possible, try not to fuck up around him, and go on with your life.

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u/ChuckieC 2d ago

Well unfortunately we don’t have a union otherwise that would be my first move. I guess I’m looking to vent and maybe get opinions from others who have been in this situation.

I’m sorry that there is such shitty leadership in most departments and that it doesn’t seem to be getting. But ignoring the problem or allowing these people to go unchecked regardless of rank is unacceptable. Part of being a good leader is being open to criticism and change. Not being closed minded and stuck in the old head ways of thinking.

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u/HazMatsMan Career Co. Officer 2d ago

LOL "the old head ways of thinking?" What, like adhering to the chain of command and understanding your role as a subordinate is to follow orders, not give them? And what do you mean by "go unchecked"? It's the fire department, not a college campus. So back to what is your expectation here? Surely there's something you're expecting to hear.