The fireman is as weird as Judy imho. He leads the way just when he wants to... He literally worked hard to have Mr C beaten but that wasn't the main objective. We see how powerful he can be but he never interfered while Richard is on duty.

This makes me think either

a) everything has gone as planned (including the scream), or

b) there are boundaries that the fireman can't pass through. Maybe he can't always show up (but he did show up in many times in the original series, didnt he?).

I don't believe he is neutral or he is already defeated. And I dont believe Cooper can be tricked despite the fireman.