A fire at the former Halifax County Rehab Centre on Bissett Road in Cole Harbour has been contained to an auxiliary building at the back of the vacant complex.

The building has been empty since 2002 but was recently used as a set for the television show Trailer Park Boys.

The fire began Saturday afternoon.

"We've managed to get water up here after a lot of work by a lot of firefighters and we've knocked the bulk of that fire down," said Halifax Region divisional fire Chief Dave Meldrum.

"It's not yet declared under control, but things are looking very good. We believe it's not extended through the breezeway into the rest of the facility."

Eight heavy fire engines and three tankers were on the scene. Meldrum estimated 30 to 40 firefighters were helping put out the flames.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Peter Ferguson said three teenage boys were arrested walking away from the scene.

Ferguson said no charges have been laid and arson investigators won't be able to examine the site until Sunday.

Glenna Conrad-Lopez, who worked at the facility off and on, starting in the 1970s, said she wasn't happy about the disrepair the building had fallen into and even wrote a letter to the mayor.

"I said, 'this is terrible, it's a disgrace to the people who lived there … were treated there, and a disgrace to the people, the staff, who worked there and dedicated their lives,'" said Conrad-Lopez. "It needed to be taken down instead of abused."

The building was set for demolition.

Bissett Road at Cole Harbour Road was still blocked by police late Saturday afternoon.