Some things never change. 32 years of service and I still see some things that should change, but never do. Command is one of these things that never seem to quite work the way we're taught. Company "A" has a fire and calls for help from neighboring departments (mutual aid) who have pledged to respond. Sounds good, so far... but that is when the trouble starts. The control and command of the fire is the responsibility of Company "A", but upon arrival of the neighboring companies the chain of command begins to crumble. Company "B" arrives, but it's troops will only follow the orders of Company "B" officers, who also believe it's their fire. Tell a firefighter from Company "B" to stand down, when that firefighter thinks he should be charging in, and a Company "A" officer can get told where to go (in no uncertain terms). I've seen it happen. WHAT? CAN THIS BE ? SAY IT ISN'T SO! It can be, and often is. Worse is that the more companies that arrive to help the worse it gets. Now imagine 3 0r 4 more companies helping Company "A". Total lack of control, and respect for officers not in their own company. Total company wide freelancing. Freelancing that everyone knows can lead to real trouble; injuries, deaths, lawsuits, you name it. Everyone has had the training. Everyone knows what they are supposed to do, and yet...somewhere in the mix the message got lost. I know it isn't easy to take orders, or commands from other company officers. I understand that often you don't know the Commanding Officers on a personal basis. It's hard, really hard to place your trust in someone who isn't part of "Your Team". But, without that willingness to say "ok, it's their fire" one not only contributes to the mayhem, but also to the risk. Now this isn't true of every company, or every mutual aid call, or even every fire. But what I don't understand is why when chiefs do have a meeting this isn't a "must discuss" topic.