HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The worst heat wave in more than 20 years is a particularly bad time for an extended power outage.

Darrell Ervin lives on 15th Street in Huntington and says he’s been taking a cold shower nearly every hour to cope with having no air conditioning.

"We have a thermometer, and it got up to 112 in the house," Ervin said.

When Flossie Triplett lost power at her home in Lincoln County, it was more than an inconvenience. It was a health concern.

Triplett is on oxygen and a nebulizer, but a friend stepped up and moved Triplett into her house where there is power.

"She invited me and I stayed,” Triplett said. “I'd rather have a friend than money. You have more with friends than you do with money. Money just buys so much."

89-year-old Ruth Ewing lives alone in Huntington and depends on electricity to run her oxygen. Since the power outage, she requires three separate tanks to be brought in every other day.

"I don't like the extreme heat,” Ewing said. “I don't function that well."

Her family has been checking on her to make sure she’s alright, but hearing it could be as much as five days before power is restored has them feeling stressed.

“That's going to be too treacherous on us,” Ewing’s daughter Lilly Relf said. “We can't handle that, and the heat index? Oh man, I don't know what's going to happen."

While many are coping with no power, a family on Frazier’s Lane in Lesage is now dealing with no home.

Friday night's storm brought a tree down onto William McYoung's mobile home and into his living room.