It starts with a cough in the bunkroom, a sniffle in the kitchen, and before you know it, half the crew is dropping like flies. Welcome to flu season in the firehouse—where winter germs hit harder than a four-alarm fire, and if one guy goes down, the rest of the shift follows.
Since hazmat suits are not part of your standard PPE, let’s talk about what you can do to keep yourself upright while your brothers and sisters are hacking up a lung. Here are seven ways to dodge the Firehouse Flu and make sure you do not end up as patient zero.
1. Wash Your Damn Hands (Like You Mean It)
We get it. You decon after a fire, you wash up after a call, but are you really scrubbing down like you should? Firehouses are petri dishes. That bunk mattress? Been marinating in sickness since ‘06. The kitchen sponge? More bacteria than a crime scene.
Pro Tip: Wash your hands like you just handled raw chicken from the floor of a gas station bathroom. And if hand sanitizer is your go-to, make sure it is at least 60% alcohol—otherwise, you are just rubbing scented regret all over your hands.
2. Start Treating Hand Towels Like It Is a Frat House
Look, we know that the firehouse kitchen is a lawless wasteland. But if you are trusting the same communal kitchen towel your captain uses to blow his nose, you might as well just lick a subway pole. The odds are it has not been washed in weeks, maybe longer.
Pro Tip: Make sure those kitchen towels are included into your regular laundry cycle. And if someone has been recently ill, assume that towel has been contaminated by whatever plague is going around or used as a chew spit cup.
3. Boost That Immune System Before It Is Too Late
If your idea of nutrition is gas station burritos and six cups of coffee, your immune system is already hanging on by a thread. You cannot expect your body to fight off infection when you are fueling it like a dumpster fire.
Pro Tip: Load up on vitamin C, D, and zinc. Eat a vegetable (just one, we believe in baby steps). And for the love of all things holy, drink some damn water.
4. Sleep Like Your Life Depends on It (Because It Does)
We know—sleeping at the station is about as restful as napping in a war zone. But chronic sleep deprivation wrecks your immune system. If you are getting four hours of broken sleep a night, it is no wonder you are catching every virus that walks through the door.
Pro Tip: Get at least 7 hours when you are off shift. Use blackout curtains, melatonin, and whatever it takes to get deep, quality sleep. And if you are still running on fumes? Nap like a champion.
5. Disinfect Like You Are Trying to Hide a Crime Scene
That recliner? Probably a biological hazard. The kitchen table? A 5 star resort for germs. That communal headset? A one-way ticket to infection central. If it is touched by multiple people, it is covered in nastiness.
Pro Tip: Wipe down surfaces like you are trying to destroy the evidence. Use disinfecting wipes, bleach, and whatever it takes to keep the firehouse from turning into a plague ward.
6. Know When to Wave the White Flag
We get it. Calling out sick feels like a betrayal. You would rather crawl through broken glass than leave your crew short-staffed. But showing up to shift while you are coughing your lungs out does not make you tough—it just makes you a biological weapon.
Pro Tip: If you are sick, stay home. The job will survive without you for a shift. What will not survive? Your entire crew if you infect them all.
7. Protect Your Paycheck (Because Bills Do Not Care If You Are Sick)
Let’s talk about the real nightmare—missing work and watching your paycheck vanish. Sick days only get you so far, and if you get hit with something worse, like pneumonia – you could be out for weeks.
And if that illness turns into something chronic? You are staring down long-term disability, mounting bills, and a financial disaster waiting to happen.
Pro Tip: Get Long-Term Disability (LTD) coverage. It ensures that if you get sidelined by illness, you are not drowning in medical debt and missed paychecks. For firefighters, CAPF is the gold standard. It is designed by first responders, for first responders – because no one else gets the risks you face every damn day.
Final Thoughts: Be Smart, Stay Healthy, and Protect Your Future
Firefighters do not have the luxury of working from home or avoiding public exposure. You are out there, in the trenches, every shift. That means you are at higher risk for illnesses, injuries, and long-term health issues.
So take care of yourself. Wash your hands, eat like an adult, sleep like a human, and get LTD coverage before you need it.
Because the Firehouse Flu might be survivable—but gambling with your paycheck and your future? That is a risk you do not want to take.