Last weekend, our town hosted the 65th annual countywide firefighters convention. Ten years ago, they hosted the 55th. I must laugh at how much has changed in 10 years. Back then, we had two little boys who sat for hours, absolutely entranced by the parade of trucks and flashing lights. At 3 and 1½, those were peak firetruck obsession years, and every new truck was something to be more excited about. Pretty sure I spent the day trying to keep them from toddling out into the street to see the “big trucks.”

Now, at 13 and 11, I’m not even sure they noticed the firetrucks. A spent the morning volunteering at another community event to complete service hours for one of the different groups he belongs to, the Scouts, or maybe honor society, I can’t even keep track anymore. G did the same, but I know for sure his hours were counting for Scouts. Then they rushed home to change into their band uniforms.

This was a big deal, because it was G’s first parade as a member of the band. A is pro at this by now and was only grousing a little bit about having to walk the entire route of the parade in reverse to get back to our group after the band was finished. They needed to race back from the end of the parade so that they could help support our Scout troop, which sold hot dogs and drinks as a fundraiser for a trip they’re planning to take in 2021.

Let’s not forget about E. She wasn’t even with us 10 years ago, but she was looking forward to the parade for the simple fact that it would bring us back to our old neighborhood and she would get to spend most of the day with her old friends and our old neighbors.

Just like that, I found myself with no kids and a parade to watch. As luck would have it, I sat down to watch just as the department that my dad belonged to, and that I grew up going to, rolled by. I suddenly remembered that as a little kid, the very first thing I ever wanted to be when I grew up was a firefighter. I remembered a red plastic firetruck that I used to load up with my Fisher Price Little People. I can remember lining them up across the back bumper when I played firefighter, and then loading up the hose bed when I played “block party.”

I racked my brain, trying to remember why I wanted to be a firefighter. The obvious answer was that I’d spent a heck of a lot of time at the “Hosey” growing up, because my dad was a dedicated volunteer who spent a lot of time there. This, however, didn’t account for the distinct image that I had of a crew of firefighters hanging on to the back of the truck as it raced around the corners. With a volunteer squad, most of the time, we rolled up to the scene in our family car, as did most of the other volunteers.

As I filed through the memories, I finally hit upon it. “Rampart!” How could I possibly have forgotten the pivotal television show of my childhood, “Emergency!” I had a very limited TV viewing schedule when I was younger, since we didn’t have one, and I mostly watched whatever was on my grandparent’s TV when we spent weekends at their house. In addition to countless hours of WWF (now WWE) wrestling, we all loved watching “Emergency!” and the trials and tribulations of Roy and John and the rest of Squad 51.

These days, most of my wanderings down memory lane are accompanied by a Google search to flesh out some of the hazier details, and some interesting factoids that I didn’t know or wouldn’t have cared to know as a child. Finding out that “Emergency!” was one of the first TV shows that highlighted the professional rescuer, and that it probably helped increase awareness and expand rescue services throughout the U.S. wasn’t a surprise to me. After all, if I had been a few years older, I probably would have joined right up! I’m also pretty sure that many of my peers who are current volunteers may have had the same TV diet that I did.

One of the differences that really hit me about this year’s parade, compared to the one 10 years ago, was that this one was drastically shorter. In fact, when the last truck went by, followed by a long break, I was sure that was just “halftime.” “Where’s the rest of it,” I texted a firefighter friend. “That’s it,” he responded. I was shocked. I know this is a really big deal for all of our local fire companies, and they make many arrangements to attend. Where were they?

Then, I started thinking about the borough and township meetings that I cover. I can think of at least four departments that existed 10 years ago that have been absorbed or consolidated into other departments, and that’s just in my own backyard. I know that is a countywide problem, a statewide problem, and even a national problem, as both volunteer numbers and financial resources shrink. Just how hard it has hit our small local communities was evident on Saturday.

For now, it’s clear that we still have many strong departments and many dedicated volunteers who take great pride in their companies and their communities, but if something doesn’t change soon, we could all suffer the consequences, and they could be dire. If we need some inspiration, I think they’re showing old episodes of “Emergency!” on Hulu these days.

Liz Pinkey is a contributing writer to the Times News. Her column appears weekly in our Saturday feature section.