Exactly, why didn't this woman have one of those hand pump breathers that the EMTs have in ambulances? Contingencies should have been in place for emergency circumstances.  It was lack of foresight that killed this woman.  If lightning blew a transformer, or someone hit a power pole this woman would have died. Hell that equipment could have failed for any reason. My power goes out due to infrastructure failure at least a few times a year. I really don't think power failures are all that uncommon.