diff --git a/src/libCom/error/errlog.c b/src/libCom/error/errlog.c
index c5834057b..aa0e73901 100644
--- a/src/libCom/error/errlog.c
+++ b/src/libCom/error/errlog.c
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ epicsShareFunc int errlogPrintf(const char *pFormat, ...)
 {
     va_list pvar;
     char *pbuffer;
-    int nchar;
+    int nchar = 0;
     int isOkToBlock;
 
     if (epicsInterruptIsInterruptContext()) {