COHOES — Nearly four-dozen people from 28 houses that smoldered in the massive Cohoes blaze started by a resident Nov. 30 have been re-housed or furnished with food, clothing and household goods, according to a report released Thursday by the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany.

The city of Cohoes asked the diocese in January to provide case management services to the fire victims, who were helped in the short-term by the American Red Cross but who needed long-term assistance as well. The diocese, which has a history in providing such services to victims of hurricanes and floods, agreed.

"With a flood or a storm, we would do home visits so that we could physically go there and assess the damage," said Wilhelmina Murray-Davis, who along with Mary Olsen from the diocese, oversaw the work. "With a fire, that was very different because there was no home to visit."

A total of 43 fire victims received a comprehensive intake to determine their individual needs, the report states. Catholic Charities then worked with the survivors to best allocate the funds based on those needs. Those whose homes remained intact but who needed new furniture got it, while those who lost their homes received rent and security deposits for a new place.

"So even though we were not necessarily cutting a check for them, people were put back into new apartments, with each room furnished, with food and they were closely mirroring their pre-disaster state," Murray-Davis said.

More than $119,786 was raised to assist the victims — $106,000 of it from three major fundraisers held in and around the Albany County city. Major donations also came from Pioneer Bank, Key Bank and CAPCOM Federal Credit Union, which helped collect the funds.

The diocese also thanked two businesses — Huck Finn's Warehouse and B. Lodge and Co. — for their help.

The man who started the fire while trying to forge a sword in an outdoor fire barrel was sentenced Tuesday to a year in jail.