diff --git a/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/include/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/TypeSupport_impl.hpp b/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/include/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/TypeSupport_impl.hpp
index 1d263638d..a4d5ac1a7 100644
--- a/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/include/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/TypeSupport_impl.hpp
+++ b/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/include/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/TypeSupport_impl.hpp
@@ -573,6 +573,12 @@ bool TypeSupport<MembersType>::deserializeROSmessage(
         deserialize_field<uint64_t>(member, field, deser, call_new);
         break;
       case ::rosidl_typesupport_introspection_cpp::ROS_TYPE_STRING:
+        // Because std::string is a complex datatype, we need to make sure that
+        // the memory is initialized to something reasonable before eventually
+        // passing it as a reference to Fast-CDR.
+        if(!member->is_array_) {
+          new (field) std::string();
+        }
         deserialize_field<std::string>(member, field, deser, call_new);
         break;
       case ::rosidl_typesupport_introspection_cpp::ROS_TYPE_MESSAGE: