Editor’s note: Jan. 19–25, 2026, marks the 7th annual CRR Week campaign. The 2026 CRR Week theme, Emergency Response, shines a spotlight on how fire departments’ response efforts are a vital part of Community Risk Reduction. This year’s toolkit emphasizes emergency response strategies that reduce risk, save lives and strengthen community safety. Learn more at the CRR Week resource center.
Poem written by Joseph Malins
Often performed by John Denver
Introduction by Wendy Giannini-King
In 1895, an English emigrant living in Philadelphia wrote a poem titled “The Ambulance Down in the Valley.” The poem illustrates the difference between prevention and cure — a familiar concept in the fire service.
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Fast forward to the 1980s. Singer-songwriter (and national treasure) John Denver revived this poem in American ears by sharing Malin’s work during his concerts and stage performances. Occasionally, in recordings, you can hear Denver introduce the poem with the words, “I am one who is in favor of preventive measures.”
Mr. Denver, we understand, sir.
As we mark CRR Week, it seems like a fitting read or listen. Please enjoy “The Ambulance Down in the Valley”:
‘Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed,
Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant,
But over its terrible edge there had slipped,
A duke and full many a peasant.
So the people said something would have to be done,
But their projects did not at all tally.
Some said, “Put a fence around the edge of the cliff,”
Some, “An ambulance down in the valley.”
But the cry for the ambulance carried the day,
For it spread through the neighboring city,
A fence may be useful or not, it is true,
But each heart became moved with pity,
For those who slipped over that dangerous cliff;
And the dwellers on highway and alley
Gave pounds and gave pence not to put up a fence,
But an ambulance down in the valley.
Then an old sage remarked, “it’s a marvel to me
That people give far more attention
To repairing the results than to stopping the cause,
When they’d much better aim at prevention.
“Let us stop at its source all this hurt,” cried he.
“Come, neighbors and friends, let us rally.
If the cliff we will fence, we might almost dispense
With the ambulance down in the valley.
