Yes, that joint has been put together wrong. The springs should be on the back of the back box flange, forcing the two flanges together onto the fire ring.
The sealing flanges are the rounded bits, the rear box has a bit of pipe through the flange it to centre the joint. The fire ring is a thick doughnut of woven wire which seals between the two convex faces. If these faces will wire brush up adequately, and you can get the bolts undone (you might need some heat on the nuts) you might be in business with a new ring.