diff --git a/fanout.c b/fanout.c
index a0a48bbbb6226ebecc570fdb1f90dcf76bf9f8d0..a02271dc36279869f490eb0cf97842457aea4fa9 100644
--- a/fanout.c
+++ b/fanout.c
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ int main (int argc, char *argv[])
     socklen_t optlen = sizeof(optval);
     u_int listen_backlog = 25;
     u_int max_events = 25;
-    FILE *pidfile;
+    FILE *pidfile = NULL;
     server_start_time = (long)time (NULL);
     char buffer[1025];