Of all the things he has seen in his young life, Ryan Messoria is certain of his favorite.

"Firetrucks!" the 5-year-old proclaimed yesterday as he wandered among the antique fire-fighting apparatus and top-of-the-line engines on display at the Firehouse Expo at the Baltimore Convention Center.

It was the Glen Burnie boy's second visit in three days to the annual gathering, which draws about 16,000 firefighters and rescue workers from up and down the East Coast for training, networking and a trade show.

"This is his favorite thing to do of the whole year," Alison Messoria, 39, said of her son. He also spent some time there Friday with his father, Robert, a veteran pump operator and driver with the city Fire Department.

This year's crowds endured a light drizzle along the parade route traveled by the antique and modern-day fire apparatus.

"It's just kind of neat to see how all the fire equipment has changed," said David Weyant, 21, a firefighter and emergency medical technician with the Amelia Volunteer Fire Department in Virginia.

He and his girlfriend, Sara Arrington, 18, were particularly intrigued by a 114-year-old hand-drawn hose reel on display - a white and mirrored carriage that looked more like it came from Cinderella's castle than a firehouse in Frederick.

"In some ways, it makes you think about how in the world they fought fires back in those days," Weyant said.

Weyant joined thousands of firefighters at the convention center for one of the most popular events of the four-day expo - the flea market.

"You go broke quick," he said.

Firefighters are fond of collecting T-shirts from other fire companies and departments, and there was no shortage of choices in the convention hall. One shirt featured the slogan "God created firefighters so police would have heroes" while another boasted in gold glittery print that the wearer is a "firefighter's girl."

Vendors also hawked custom leather radio cases, collectible miniature firetrucks and all manner of fire-fighting themed merchandise, including wind socks, bed linens, decorative covers for boxes of tissues, Frisbees, pet dishes, tote bags and baby clothes.

There were flashing lights for sale that resembled those atop rescue vehicles. There were antique hose nozzles and old lantern brackets that hung on the sides of horse-drawn ladder wagons in the 1880s. And there were boots, gloves and helmets - both of the shiny and new variety as well as used and vintage.

Bill Bekanich, 38, a firefighter with the Blakely Hose Company in Pennsylvania, picked up a refurbished brass-and-copper pressurized fire extinguisher - something he said he has been seeking for years.

"I've always liked them, but I never found one that was refurbished," he said. "Somebody did all the work for me."

Bekanich said he planned to display the extinguisher in his home beside a leather fire helmet and other mementos.

Mathieu Lambert, 25, of Chateauguay, Canada, similarly plans to display some of his finds, including a metal sign from the Baltimore City Fire Department. But he and his colleagues also intend to hold their own mini-flea market at their firehouse on the south shore of Montreal.

"The prices here are better than eBay right now," Lambert said, holding up an antique license plate off an old fire truck. He bought the item for $5 and expects he can sell it for as much as $80 back home or on the online auction site.

One of the most-visited tables at the convention belonged to the fire department of Charleston, S.C. The department lost nine firefighters in a furniture store blaze in June - the nation's deadliest fire-fighting day since Sept. 11.

Two Chevrolet Tahoes from the Charleston department led off the expo parade yesterday morning, and by early afternoon, Battalion Chief Joseph C. Roberts and his colleagues had sold all but about 500 of the 4,000 T-shirts they brought to Baltimore commemorating the nine firefighters. All proceeds from the sale of the $20 shirts will go to the families of the nine men.

"For us, it's still hard to believe," said Roberts. "I know we're going into our sixth week without them, but it's really just now sinking in."

jennifer.mcmenamin@ baltsun.com