False fire alarms cost taxpayers more than £700,000 last year.
East Sussex Fire Authority has published a list of the county's 20 worst offenders for false alarms from smoke detectors.
The Royal Sussex County Hospital, University of Sussex campus at Falmer and Metropole Hotel, Brighton, topped the list.
The authority said it would like to charge frequent offenders the cost of attending false alerts, which could place a bill of £25,000 a year on the Royal Sussex.
A hospital spokesman said: "Work being carried out is now leading to fewer call-outs caused by automatic fire alarms. The trust is introducing policies to ban smoking and toasters."
The University of Sussex was responsible for 117 false alarms last year.
But a spokeswoman said the Falmer campus was recorded as a single address despite it housing 3,000 students.
Across the county, the number of false alarms has increased by five per cent in the past two years to 4,526, including a seven per cent rise in malicious fire alarm alerts.
Gary Walsh, Assistant Chief Fire Officer of East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, said: "This delays us from attending real incidents where our help is essential for saving lives."
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