I do not know the solution, but will attempt to offer suggestions:
I would mention that I am using Ubuntu 12.04 LTS with various Firefox installs and they are not Crashing, so there is a good possibility that your problem is more specific to your own setup,rather than being a generalized problem.
You may find some of the suggestions in a Firefox Knowledge Base article are useful:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/keep-flash-up-to-date-and-troubleshoot-problems#w_the-adobe-flash-plugin-has-crashed
Is it a crash ?
Note that if it is a crash, (then unless you are on Aurora/Nightly) Firefox will offer to send crash reports, and allow you to obtain Crash IDs. Those are useful for tracking specific reasons for Crashes.
This part of the answer is even more general, but may still help.
It has already been mentioned by "Daniel" that Adobe is not supporting Flash properly on Ubuntu. One effect of this is that Ubuntu users do not have the Latest FlashPlayer release as is used by and causing problems on Firefox Windows systems
So one thing you need NOT worry about are the Firefox issues with Flash 11.3
There will be; what is to Ubuntu users; a lot of noise on the internet relating to these issues and I am aware developers from Flash, Firefox & RealPlayer are involved. (RealPlayer have made a new release which Firefox promptly blocklisted again - soft black I presume - confirmation will be here )
Sorry for posting links but your question is at present rather general, so a general troubleshooting link seems best (There should be no link rot problem, mozilla normally archives rather than deletes Firefox KB articles, or if they are renamed or puts in suitable redirects).
Post back when you have more details and have tried read the linked articles and maybe someone will be able to offer a more specific answer.
Best Answer
For alternatives as you said, there's Gnash and Lightspark.
To install open Terminal (Press Ctrl+Alt+T) and copy the following commands in the Terminal:
For "Official PPA of the Lightspark project":
or for "Automated daily builds from ustream git master":
Installation:
Click here for instructions on using PPAs.
NOTE - Update for Ubuntu 15.04, using Lightspark Version 0.7.2-6 (The above PPA repository does not appear to be working in Ubuntu 15.04)
Lightspark 0.7.2-6 deb package can be installed directly via the software centre, which is invoked by clicking the "Install Using Apt" button on the following web page:
http://www.ubuntuupdates.org/package/core/vivid/universe/base/browser-plugin-lightspark