Yes and No.For natural gas users, a burner pan is recommended- but not necessary. A burner pan will not only keep your burner supported within your enclosure, but it will also reduce the amount of fire pit media you need to use. A properly mounted fire pit pan can greatly increase the life and performance of your fire pit burner ring, while also making future maintenance of your fire pit easy.For liquid propane applications, a burner pan is necessary. LP applications require an air mixer to operate, in order to ensure the highest level of performance and safety. You must also provide adequate space around the air mixer underneath the burner pan, to ensure that unburned propane falloff does not settle below the pan.