Fire Chief John A. Pond said Thursday that six firefighters deserve commendations for work that included rescuing seven people from a burning building on Jan. 1 while others have been ordered to undergo ladder truck retraining. Two men and a woman died and 49 tenants were displaced in a blaze at 106 North East St. that state investigators said was caused by an electrical problem in a third-floor wall outlet. One of those transferred off of ladder truck duty is Lt. Chad Cunningham, the firefighters union president and commander of Truck 2. His lawyer said the move was retaliation for Cunningham's criticism of staffing and funding decisions made by Pond and Mayor Alex B. Morse such as the controversial step known as brownouts.