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A fire pan provides a table-top or ground-supported pan or tray to hold a source of heat such as charcoal, burning wood, gas burner, and so forth. The pan places the heat source away from a surface, thus not damaging lawns, tabletops, parking lots, sidewalks, or other supporting surfaces. The pan ma

A fire pan provides a table-top or ground-supported pan or tray to hold a source of heat such as charcoal, burning wood, gas burner, and so forth. The pan places the heat source away from a surface, thus not damaging lawns, tabletops, parking lots, sidewalks, or other supporting surfaces. The pan may support one or more Dutch ovens, thus providing a “fire pit” of modest size, foldable into a very small envelope. Handles are extendible away from the pan for handling or moving, even when hot coals are present. The legs below are curved to fold up along the contour of the bottom surface of the pan.

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1. A method comprising: providing a pan defining a vertical direction upward and away therefrom and a radial direction orthogonal to the vertical direction, the pan comprising a top surface extending solidly and unperforated in the radial direction;providing legs pivotably connected to the pan and m

1. A method comprising: providing a pan defining a vertical direction upward and away therefrom and a radial direction orthogonal to the vertical direction, the pan comprising a top surface extending solidly and unperforated in the radial direction;providing legs pivotably connected to the pan and moveable between a deployed position and a storage position;providing handles secured to the pan along extensions formed integrally with the handles to selectively slide the handles radially toward and away from one another, the extensions mutually overlapping radially in a retracted position, yet offset to not interfere with each other;the providing the handles, further comprising providing attachments securing the handles to the pan to be moveable in translation with respect thereto;deploying the legs from a storage position to a deployed position;extending the handles from the retracted position to an extended position, wherein a grip portion of each handle is spaced away from the pan a greater distance than in the retracted position;supporting a combustible solid as a heat source resting directly on the top surface of the pan;positioning a cooking surface of a Dutch oven above the heat source by supporting the Dutch oven directly on the top surface;cooking a foodstuff on the cooking surface;removing the heat source;waiting while the pan cools to a temperature sufficiently low to permit safe handling;moving the handles to the retracted position;folding the legs from the deployed position to the storage position. 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: the providing the handles, further comprising:providing a base fixed to the pan;providing rails fixed to the base and extending away therefrom;providing slots in the handles, each slot of the slots fitted to a rail of the rails; andproviding keepers securing the respective rails within the slots corresponding thereto. 3. The method of claim 1 further wherein the providing a pan, further comprising casting the pan from a metal. 4. The method of claim 3 wherein providing a pan further comprising casting brackets into a lower side of the pan. 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the brackets are formed to match the legs, each bracket hinging a leg of the legs for pivoting that leg with respect to the pan. 6. The method of claim 4 further comprising: the providing a pan, further comprising casting stops proximate the brackets, the stops each forming a registration position controlling the deployed position of the legs corresponding thereto. 7. The method of claim 1 further comprising: providing the pan, further comprising casting a dish from a metal, wherein the dish comprises a comparatively smoother top surface, and a lower surface, the lower surface having cast thereinto brackets configured to secure to the legs; andcasting rails fitted to secure the handles in sliding arrangement. 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising: providing a wind screen;providing a grill fitted to be supported by and above the windscreen; andthe providing a windscreen, further comprising providing multiple pieces, fitted to interlock together to form the windscreen from at least two individual, separable segments. 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: placing a pot over the heat source;placing a combustible solid on a lid fitted to the pot on the pot;removing the lid from the pot;placing the lid on a handle of the handles; andplacing cooking utensils on another handle opposite the first handle. 10. A method comprising: providing a stand;the providing a stand, further comprising providing a pan formed to extend radially, solid and unperforated, along a top surface thereof formed to support a combustible solid as a heat source,providing handles permanently secured to the pan to remain permanently therewith, the handles being translatable between a first stowed position wherein grips of the handles are positioned proximate the pan, and a second deployed position wherein the grips of the handles are positioned away from the pan, andproviding legs, each pivotably secured to the pan to move between a first, stowed, position proximate the pan and a second, deployed, position distal from the pan;extending the legs to the deployed position thereof;extending the handles to the extended position thereof;providing a combustible solid, as a source of heat, directly on the pan;placing a Dutch oven directly on the pan to position the Dutch Oven over the source of heat;placing a lid of the Dutch oven on one of the handles in the deployed position; andplacing utensils on the other handle opposite the lid. 11. The method of claim 10 further comprising locking the legs in the deployed position. 12. The method of claim 10 further comprising sliding the handles in translation from the stowed position to the extended position. 13. The method of claim 10, wherein providing a stand further includes providing the handles to have a grip portion and to extension portions each, the grip portion comprising a substantially stiff portion extending between the two extension portions, and each extension portion comprising an elongate, monolithic piece formed unitarily with the grip, and being provided with an elongate aperture receiving a stud extending from the pan to a keeper, the extension being captured permanently between the pan and the keeper to secure the handle thereto. 14. The method of claim 10, further comprising: removing the Dutch oven from the pan;removing the heat source from the pan;cooling the pan;sliding the handles to the retracted position; andfolding the legs to the stowed position by releasing the locks. 15. The method of claim 10, further comprising: fitting a windscreen to the pan; andproviding a grill supported by the windscreen, spaced from the upper surface of the pan by the windscreen. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the source of heat is selected from wood, charcoal, and a combustible gas. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: dismantling the windscreen into at least two pieces; andpacking the stand, windscreen, and grill proximate one another;the packing, wherein the stand, windscreen and grill fit into a spatial envelope circumscribed by a circle having a diameter not larger than the distance between the outer extremities of the grips of the handles in the stowed position. 18. A method comprising: providing a pan defining a vertical direction upward and away therefrom and a radial direction orthogonal to the vertical direction, the pan comprising a top surface extending solidly and unperforated in substantially the radial direction;providing legs pivotable against the pan in a stowed configuration and away from the pan in a deployed configuration wherein the legs support the pan on a supporting surface a distance effective to protect the supporting surface from heat generated on the top surface;providing handles comprising grip portions integrally formed with extensions, the respective extensions being slidably secured to the pan to selectively translate the grip portions radially toward one another, to a retracted position, and away from one another, to an extended position;the providing handles, wherein the extensions are mutually overlapping radially in the retracted position, yet offset to not interfere with each other;deploying the legs from the stowed position to the deployed position;supporting a combustible solid as a heat source resting directly on the top surface of the pan; andpositioning a cooking surface of a Dutch oven above the heat source by supporting the Dutch oven directly on the top surface. 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: spacing the grip portions away from the pan by extending the handles from the retracted position to the extended position; andstoring at least one of a lid of the Dutch oven and a cooking utensil on the handles. 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: positioning a quantity of the combustible solid on top of the lid;cooking a foodstuff with heat from the cooking surface and the lid;moving the handles to the retracted position; andfolding the legs to the stowed position inside a radial envelope defined by the pan.