He noted that very few rooms have fire screens and none have individual fire extinguishers.

Palfrey said he hopes that the school will put resources into solving the problem.

“If Harvard were willing to put money and effort into a system they felt was safe, this would be wonderful,” Palfrey said.

Pertile said that several masters feel divided on the issue, giving credence to safety concerns, while at the same time regretting students’ loss of the prized winter comfort of fires.

“One the one hand, it is a sensible state of affairs that we have now [with the ban], but I do feel that our students have been deprived of a major winter amenity, and that is a major loss,” Pertile said.

He noted that while he hasn’t decided conclusively where he stands on the ban, the current dialogue amongst students, masters and administrators on the issue is crucial.

“I’m absolutely in favor of the present discussion, and the fact that we are now reconsidering the ban together, and considering it from all angles,” Pertile said.

A primary risk concern is the number of false fire alarms in Houses, which could lead students to ignore the alarms and decide against leaving their rooms.

Apathy toward fire alarms, developed by a series of false alarms, may have been a prime cause in the deaths of three Seton Hall University students in a dorm room blaze in January 2000.

Peritle said that the recommendation of the Council of Masters will likely depend on any new information that Gross provides them at the meeting.

The CHL also decided to implement for the next year new rules governing interhouse transfers, which decrease the cap on groups applying for transfers to two.

— Staff writer Katharine A. Kaplan can be reached at kkaplan@fas.harvard.edu.