A foundation representing firefighters who die in the line of duty is calling for Congress to strip the Centers for Disease Control of its role investigating firefighter deaths.

About 100 firefighters a year die in the line of duty in the U.S. Heart attacks on the job and vehicle accidents on the way to the fires account for about half. The other half are traumatic deaths while fighting fires.

An investigation by msnbc.com shows that the CDC routinely takes as long as a month - and sometimes as long as nine months - to visit the scene of firefighter deaths.

With better gear, firefighters no longer surround and drown a fire - they go in.

Firefighters go where they're needed, sometimes ignoring the dangers even when no one is inside a burning building to be saved.

If he is convicted, Dr. Kevorkian says he will die a martyr's death by going on a hunger strike.