A $1.65 million federal grant is on its way to Kansas to bolster the state’s ability to respond to terrorist acts, but it could be months before the state sees any benefits from it.

That’s because state and local emergency response agencies in all 105 counties must update their equipment wish lists and file an application if they want to get anything.

The city of Lawrence is applying for a grant to equip various local agencies to respond to terrorism. Responder reflector suits, like the one Lawrence firefighter James McKenzie wore on Wednesday at Fire Station No. 4, 2819 Stonebarn Terrace, may be updated with more sophisticated gear that is necessary to protect against chemical and biological weapons.

“We don’t know how much money we’re going to get,” said Paula Phillips, Douglas County emergency management director.

Douglas County has filled out similar applications in the past, and earlier this year local officials prepared a risk assessment and listed equipment they would like to have to improve local emergency response, Phillips said.

Most of what the county may receive would probably go to Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical, Phillips said.

“Most everything would be enhancements to what we already have,” Fire & Medical Deputy Chief Mark Bradford said. “It would be in the biological protection and detection area that we would get new equipment.”

Phillips and Bradford said they didn’t know how long it might take to get any new equipment. Additional training will probably be required once it does get here, Bradford said. Most of that training can probably be done within the department, he said.

Equipment orders will have to be placed online. The U.S. Justice Department’s Office for Domestic Preparedness, which is handling the grant funding, has designated the Kansas Highway Patrol as the state agency that will decide what counties get from their wish lists.

“The state has had similar grants in previous years,” said Trooper Mark Engholm, patrol spokesman. “This isn’t just a knee-jerk reaction to Sept. 11. But there are going to be more grants headed our way with more funding.”