Thick black smoke billowed into the skies over the headquarters of the Traffic Police just after lunch on Tuesday.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), responding to queries from The Straits Times, said they received a call about a fire at the building along Ubi Avenue 3 at about 1pm.

People were seen running out of the building.

A fire engine, one red rhino, and two fire bikes, arrived at the scene in three minutes and the fire was extinguished in 10 minutes.

The SCDF said a 29-year-old Malay woman was conveyed to Changi General Hospital for smoke inhalation and nine motorcycles within the compound were damaged in the fire.

SCDF is still investigating the cause of the fire, said a spokesman.