diff --git a/src/ifcgeomserver/IfcGeomServer.cpp b/src/ifcgeomserver/IfcGeomServer.cpp
index 16e0f95d3a..aa715d62fc 100644
--- a/src/ifcgeomserver/IfcGeomServer.cpp
+++ b/src/ifcgeomserver/IfcGeomServer.cpp
@@ -46,11 +46,17 @@
 
 using namespace boost;
 
+template <typename T>
+union data_field {
+    char buffer[sizeof(T)];
+    T value;
+};
+
 template <typename T>
 T sread(std::istream& s) {
-	char buf[sizeof(T)];
-	s.read(buf, sizeof(T));
-	return *((T*)buf);
+    data_field<T> data;
+    s.read(data.buffer, sizeof(T));
+    return data.value;
 }
 
 template <>