diff --git a/src/debug/debug.cpp b/src/debug/debug.cpp
index dcf0b800..217710dc 100644
--- a/src/debug/debug.cpp
+++ b/src/debug/debug.cpp
@@ -2288,8 +2288,10 @@ bool CDebugVar::LoadVars(char* name)
 
 	// read number of vars
 	Bit16u num;
-	if (fread(&num,sizeof(num),1,f) != 1) return false;
-
+	if (fread(&num,sizeof(num),1,f) != 1) {
+		fclose(f);
+		return false;
+	}
 	for (Bit16u i=0; i<num; i++) {
 		char name[16];
 		// name