AIKEN - The Aiken County Sheriff's Office has applied for federal grant money that would help it and other county agencies respond to disasters like the Graniteville train collision.

The agency applied for $390,000 from the Department of Homeland Security.

Sheriff Mike Hunt said that his office planned to apply for the grant well before the Graniteville disaster but that the money would nonetheless improve the county's ability to handle such disasters.

"We are constantly thinking outside the box," Sheriff Hunt said. "Planning and thinking outside the box helps you manage a major incident and helps you save lives."

About $316,000 is expected for the COBRA response team. Purchases will include $80,000 for a system that refills air bottles used by agents who respond to fires and chemical and biological incidents, the sheriff said.

About $75,000 would be spent on an emergency response trailer equipped with air packs, generators, chemical suits and chain saws. Some money would go to the SWAT team for training and equipment, Sheriff Hunt said, stressing that equipment would be evenly dispersed.

"All of this equipment that we purchase is available to any agency in the county," he said.

The homeland security grant is the third the office has applied for in the past two years. Before applying, each county in the state had to compile a survey of potential threats within its borders.

The department submitted its request through the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division last week.

Reach Betsy Gilliland at (803) 648-1395.