Since the agency was created after the September 11 tragedy, Homeland Security has been providing money to cities across the country to increase security measures and preparedness.

In 2005, the Waynesboro Police Department received $46,000 from a Homeland Security grant. That money to establish a reverse 911 center and bought gas masks for officers. Sgt. Kelly Walker says the money is helping the city.

He says, "Having these resources available through grants allows us to purchase equipment that not only on a daily use for our local law enforcement mission, but also for the event. That hasn't happened yet, but may, and probably will in the future; to have us in position to be prepared to respond to it."

The Staunton Police Department also received grant money. They recently purchased a $75,000 machine, which identifies hazardous chemicals and could be used in a bio-hazard attack.

Homeland Funding Chief for the Staunton Fire Department, Scott Garber, says, "It will identify just about any liquid or solid material telling you the compound of it. What it is, shows you the spectrometry of it and helps give us a positive identification of a chemical.”

While these cities have newer, better equipment, Garber admits it would take more than their resources to help in the event of a terrorist attack.

He says, "Through our training and the equipment we have now, we are prepared to do a quick assessment. More likely, we'd have to call in reinforcements of people that have higher training."