Fence Charger Problem

I recently learned of a barn fire caused by a fence charger that shorted out. The charger was defective and--as the narrator described it--had "melted down." I'm not enough of an electrician to actually know what "melted down" means, but when I told my friend, Ron, about it, he said he was going to install a GFI outlet for his fence charger, which is in his barn. That way, should there be a problem with the charger, the GFI will cut it off before any damage can occur. Seems like a good solution.