There are 2 things wrong here - the title of the thread is 'firmware', and BCTool has nothing to do with it. BCTool, and packages like it, are software - that is, providing external control for the scanners it supports. Without firmware, the radio is nothing more than a bunch of expensive electronics and plastic.
The other thing is while it's good software for the initial firmware releases, BCTool will no longer work with the RR import (due to the XML web service shutdown) nor will it support rebanding. In addition, it doesn't completely support the XT line of scnners. Unfortunately it's never been updated in over a year. It's pretty decent for the Euro versions of the DMA scanners, but not much else.
FreeScan is superior, IMHO (OK, maybe not so humble). It has been updated for the new firmware, supports the XT scanners and works with the new SOAP RR Web interface.
Oh, did I forget to mention it's free? 73 Mike