Wisconsin emergency responders will receive an additional $2.78 million from the federal government for new equipment under the state’s new terrorist preparedness plan.

The plan, recently approved by the U.S. Department of Justice, will help state emergency responders deal with threats or real terrorism attacks.

Lori Getter, spokesman for the Wisconsin Division of Emergency Management, said the strategic plan was formed after years of assessing the strengths and weaknesses of emergency protocol and procedure in the state.

“This is really an accumulation of a couple years’ work,” said Getter. “This is an overall view of the potential risk in this state and how capable we are of responding to the threat.”

Debbie Monterrey-Millet, spokesman for Gov. Scott McCallum, said the statewide plan includes all areas of emergency management.

“It includes everything from making sure that medical personnel are able to handle whatever will come up to making sure different capabilities have all been coordinated,” she said.

State agencies are being asked to assess where they need additional funding. With the grant money, agencies plan to buy personal protective, detection and communications equipment.

Personal protective equipment includes Tyvak suits and other materials to ensure the safety of hazardous materials workers.

Monterrey-Millet said counties can use the grant money in a variety of ways.

“In Dane county we have hazardous materials teams, and their equipment is very expensive,” Monterrey-Millet said. “In lieu of the cost of basic equipment and what is already available to counties, some will use the money to set up a lab or for other equipment like trucks. There are any variety of things the money can be used for.”

Steve Marshall, state bioterrorism preparedness coordinator said although most of his funding comes from the Centers for Disease Control, he has been asked to list areas where funding is lacking.

“We are asking mainly for personnel,” Marshall said. “There was an article published recently in the New York Times that ranked states in terms of terrorism preparedness; Wisconsin ranked in the top five for preparedness but in the bottom five for personnel.”

Marshall said they need more money for actual equipment and hospital surveillance.

“We also need more personal protection equipment,” Marshall said. “If we want people to respond to an event, then we have to have the proper equipment — we are nowhere near where we need to be on this.”

Wisconsin is the 10th state to submit a federal plan, and Monterrey-Millet said Wisconsin has always been a proactive state with good infrastructure.

“It makes it easier than making a plan from scratch in lieu of the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks,” Monterrey-Millet said. “Wisconsin has always been a progressive state and has always been ahead of its time.”

People are always asking McCallum what the state has done to prepare for potential terrorist attacks and this plan is an important step in safety.

“Whenever the governor is out, people are always asking him what the status of the state’s safety plan is,” Monterrey-Millet said. “We have been keeping all the updates posted on the state’s website.”