Field notes · October 14, 2026
Restrooms for Wildfire Evacuation Shelters: How Many, How Fast
When a fire forces evacuations, shelters fill in hours. Here is how to size restrooms and handwashing for a shelter, and what to tell us on the first call so units roll fast.
- Same-day delivery in Fort Bragg
- Weekly service on 28-day rentals
- Wheelchair-accessible units
- Itemized quotes
How many restrooms does an evacuation shelter need?
Plan about 1 toilet for every 50 shelter residents with daily service, or 1 two-stall restroom trailer for every 120–150 residents. A shelter of 460 people needs about 9–10 standard units or 4 trailers. Add 1 hand wash station per 2–4 toilets and at least 1 wheelchair-accessible unit per cluster.
| Residents | Standard units | Or two-stall trailers | Hand wash stations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 250 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 460 | 10 | 4 | 3–4 |
Planning rule used by Terra Porta Rentals for shelters with daily service. Your agency guidance governs.
What should an emergency manager tell us on the first call?
Give the shelter address, the current and expected head count, a callback number, whether power and water are available, and any access rules at the site. Ask for hand wash stations in the same call. With that, we can tell you what can roll that day.
How often are shelter restrooms serviced?
Shelter restrooms are serviced daily: pump, clean, restock paper, soap and sanitizer, and refill hand wash water. Heavily used sites may need two visits a day. We set the schedule with the site lead and adjust as the population changes.
Restroom trailer rental · Same-day delivery · Hand wash stations
Questions about your site?
Call and we'll walk through placement, count and timing with you.
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