On the night of Tuesday, 18‑7‑1362 AH (22 July 1943 CE), during a summer evening, Prince Saud was sleeping in a room on the rooftop due to the intense heat. On the opposite side of the rooftop, his mother was also sleeping. After midnight, a massive fire broke out in the storeroom on the lower floor of the palace and began to spread. The fire was directly beneath the area where Prince Saud slept, as the house consisted of two floors.
Prince Saud immediately ordered the guards to evacuate his wives and children from their rooms and gather them in the courtyard. He then rushed to his mother’s room, lifted her onto his back, and carried her down the stairs to the lower floor.
King Saud—may God have mercy on him—set a remarkable example of filial devotion. When the fire erupted, he called out for help, then grabbed carpets and threw them ahead of him to create a safe path through the flames. He climbed to his mother’s room, carried her on his shoulder, and brought her safely to the palace courtyard.
The fire continued until the following day, Wednesday, 19‑7‑1362 AH, when the house began to collapse, starting with the section beneath Prince Saud’s room. King Abdulaziz then ordered that Saud move to the nearby Guest Palace, which was small and unable to accommodate a large household, so Saud relocated his wives and children elsewhere.
King Abdulaziz ordered the construction of the “Red Palace”, built south of the burned residence as a gift to his son Saud and as compensation for the home destroyed by the fire. The construction was carried out by Mohammed bin Laden along with a team of Egyptian engineers. King Abdulaziz told bin Laden during its construction:
“I want you to build the finest palace for my son Saud.”