diff --git a/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/handler/stream/ChunkedWriteHandler.java b/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/handler/stream/ChunkedWriteHandler.java
index a906a16386..96b2838511 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/handler/stream/ChunkedWriteHandler.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/handler/stream/ChunkedWriteHandler.java
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ public class ChunkedWriteHandler implements ChannelUpstreamHandler, ChannelDowns
 
     private final Queue<MessageEvent> queue = QueueFactory.createQueue(MessageEvent.class);
 
-    private ChannelHandlerContext ctx;
+    private volatile ChannelHandlerContext ctx;
     private MessageEvent currentEvent;
 
     /**